Brussels, 24/08/2012 (Agence Europe) - On 24 August, just ahead of the World Water Week (26-31 August), European Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs reaffirmed the EU's commitment to work towards the Millennium Development Goal of guaranteeing each and every person in the world access to drinking water and sanitation.
“Over the period 2004-2009, EU aid has provided access to clean drinking water to more than 32 million people and to sanitation to over 9.5 million across the world. Thanks to the European Commission, more than 60 countries currently benefit from major water and sanitation projects”, he said, recalling that over the last decade EU aid for this has “almost tripled to reach around €2 billion a year”.
Nonetheless, it should be noted that 4,000 children still die every day from having drunk non-drinking water, and half of hospital beds in developing countries are occupied by people suffering from diseases linked to water or poor conditions of sanitation and hygiene. Piebalgs added: “This is simply unacceptable. We are committed to doing all we can to step up our efforts.” (AN/transl.fl)