One half of schools in the developing world do not have access to safe drinking water, and over 75% do not have access to single-gender sanitation facilities, according to UNICEF. What do these statistics mean? They mean that children, particularly girls, spend their childhoods hauling water instead of studying, and they mean that girls drop out of school once they hit puberty and start menstruating because they don't have private sanitation facilities (bathrooms, pit latrines). I'd like some idealist ideas about how we can all catalyze a situation whereby developing world governments and the international donor community can come together and better prioritize a solution to this problem. The only truly exciting solution is of course universal coverage of water and sanitation in every school.

This is doable: for example, South Africa has 54,000 schools. If 27,000 of those schools need safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, at $10,000 per schools, that's $270m. That's real money, but a combo platter of the South Africa government and the international donor community can nail it. It's solvable. Kids (especially girls) will then have the opportunity to enroll and stay in school, basic public health indicators will improve, girls will grow up into literate adults, and progress will be made on poverty alleviation and gender equity. Schools are a key part of solving the global safe drinking water crisis - something to think about!

I agree with every statement that you have addressed. The global water crisis is real and needs more acknowledgement from today’s developed societies with the ability to help. Have you heard of the PlayPump water system? It’s a great way that a non-profit has addressed the lack of access to clean drinking water, specifically in sub-Saharan Africa. It is a water pump powered by children playing. They are often located in schools in rural communities too. It is a merry-go-round that pumps clean water into an above-ground storage tank and then accessed through a simple tap. This solves the most devastating issue of having girls hike for hours to fetch water, missing the opportunity to learn in school. At the same time it offers playground equipment, which is a resource so many people take for granted during their childhood.