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2003 Theme:Water for Life

Each year a theme is chosen to highlight a critical element that impacts the Foundation's projects. 2003 is the United Nations International Year of Freshwater. In conjunction with Water Year 2003, the Partnership Walk treasures the precious resource of water to demonstrate how we can all work together to preserve the environment and create solutions that make a safer, healthier world.

Today's world is "smaller" than a generation ago. The interconnections -- environmental, technological, economic, political and cultural -- grow more intricate and complex by the day. People all around the world, everywhere and every day need water. We need water for drinking, cooking, washing, for food, industry, energy, for transport, rituals, fun, and we need water for life. All life is dependent upon water for its very survival.

 Some Facts about Water

• Despite some progress in recent decades, over one billion people in developing countries do not have access to safe drinking water and 2.5 billion (40% of the world's population) lack adequate sanitation facilities. The majority of those people live in rural Asia and Africa.
• Improved access to safe water not only improves health, particularly for children, but also gives more time and energy to women and girls -- who bear most of the responsibility for fetching water -- for more productive purposes such as attending school. In rural Asia and Africa, women on average walk about 3.5 miles a day for water.
• In the least developed countries, disease and death -- often in childhood -- are primarily due to communicable, environment-related diseases. Most common are diarrheal diseases due to lack of clean water and sanitation facilities, and respiratory infections due to indoor air pollution. These diseases are readily preventable through simple and inexpensive technologies.