Worldwide walks for water

More than 300,000 people across the world are currently taking action on the water and sanitation crisis in the run up to World Water Day on 22 March.

People are walking in over 60 countries from Bangladesh to Benin, Nigeria to Norway and Mozambique to Malaysia. They are walking in solidarity with the millions of people - overwhelmingly women and children - who walk great distances each day to collect water for their basic needs and the billions who have no safe place to go to the toilet.

Walkers will be calling on governments to put an end to the water and sanitation crisis that kills one child under five every twenty seconds, 4,000 every day. They are walking to demand that politicians take action to tackle preventable diarrhoeal diseases that are the biggest killer of children in Africa, taking more young lives than HIV/AIDs, malaria and measles combined.

* In Belgium, an incredible 21,270 school children will be walking a combined total of 133,151km on World Water Day, that's over a third of the distance from the Earth to the moon!

* The entire Cirque de Soleil cast are planning a walk through Las Vegas in their costumes.

* 30 energetic walkers in London will walk the 20 miles from one side of the city to the other.

* Over 10,000 people will walk in Nigeria whilst 40,000 are expected to walk in Madagascar, both countries directly affected directly by the water and sanitation crisis.

* In Kannungu in Uganda, walkers are meeting with the Minister of Water and Environment, and officials from the Ministry of Health to tell them it's time for action.

CAFOD campaigns manager Clare Lyons said: "Access to clean water is one of the most fundamental human needs, and it should be one of the most automatic human rights. Yet every day hundreds of millions of people are still going without clean water and sanitation; and for millions more, every day is consumed by walking and queuing for hours to carry water home.

"It doesn't have to be this way: what we lack is simply the political will and the financial commitment from the world's most powerful countries to get clean water and safe sanitation to the people who need them. To know that hundreds of thousands of people are walking in solidarity with this aim is amazing and their dedication to the issue must be listened to. That's why our Thirst for Change campaign is calling on David Cameron to put water poverty on the table at the next G8 Summit, and we ask everyone who can to add their voice."

Throughout World Water Day and the week of walking for water, CAFOD supporters will be backing 'Thirst for Change' by sending their own personal messages to David Cameron and walking in solidarity with those suffering water poverty. Campaign events will take place around England and Wales to raise funds for the charity's overseas water programmes and to raise awareness of the urgent need for action.

Jennifer Williams, coordinator of the World Walks for Water and Sanitation campaign added: "Unsafe drinking water and poor sanitation mean children are missing school and are dying needlessly from disease caused by contaminated water. Ending this crisis would increase school attendance, help break the poverty cycle and, most importantly, save lives."

This year, the timing of the World Walks for Water and Sanitation is crucial. It comes almost exactly a month before leaders from across the world gather in Washington DC at a vital meeting on 20 of April to discuss what they are going to do to get taps and toilets to the world's poorest communities.

This high-level meeting, organised by the Sanitation and Water for All partnership, is a huge opportunity for real change but it won't work unless Development and Finance Ministers give it the attention it deserves.

Participants in the World Walks for Water and Sanitation event will send a clear message to politicians that they cannot ignore the water and sanitation crisis any longer. They will demand that leaders commit to attending this meeting and prepare to make strong commitments for action.

To read more about CAFOD's Water campaign see: www.cafod.org.uk/thirst