[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 82 (Thursday, May 17, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1090-E1091]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         AFRICA'S WATER CRISIS

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 17, 2007

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, yesterday the House 
Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health held a briefing and hearing on 
the important issue of Africa's water crisis. We tend to take for 
granted this basic necessity for human existence, and yet we are told 
by the United Nations Development Programme that over 1.1 billion 
people in developing countries do not have adequate access to safe 
water. Access to water is closely correlated to basic sanitation, and 
there too the world is facing a crisis. Some 2.6 billion people live 
without this second essential aspect of good health.
  In its Human Development Report for 2006, the UNDP presents a heavy 
indictment against the international community, noting that every year 
1.8 million children die from causes related to unclean water and poor 
sanitation. This is equivalent to 4,900 deaths every day, and diarrheal 
disease is the second highest cause of death in the world for children 
under 5. This occurs despite the fact that we now have oral rehydration 
therapy. These numbers dwarf the number of deaths resulting from 
violent conflict, and yet the UNDP points out that water and sanitation 
are rarely highlighted as an international concern.
  In sub-Saharan Africa--the focus of the hearing--over 300 million 
people lack access to safe water, and some 460 million do not have 
access to proper sanitation. These overwhelming numbers hide the even 
deeper tragedy that it is the poor, both poor individuals and poor 
countries, who carry the greatest burden. Sub-Saharan Africa loses 
about 5 percent of its GDP, or about $28.4 billion each year, to the 
water and sanitation deficit. This figure exceeds the total amount of 
aid and debt relief provided to the region in 2003. And most of this 
loss is suffered by those households that are below the poverty line, 
those who can least afford to pay the cost. The lack of water also 
unduly affects women and girls, who in many societies have the 
responsibility of collecting and transporting water, which can occupy 
their energy and time for several hours each day.
  Beyond the apparent costs in human suffering and loss of life, there 
are broader social and economic costs as well. Improper water 
management impacts agricultural and industrial development, economic 
growth, and the preservation of land, coastal and marine ecosystems. 
Equitable access to sufficient quantities of safe water is necessary 
for a secure, peaceful society, and threats to such access can become a 
source of conflict and even violence.
  It is worthwhile to note that, according to the UNDP, the scarcity of 
water worldwide is not the result of physical availability. The Human 
Development Report states that household water requirements represent a 
very small fraction of water use, often less than 5 percent of the 
total. Instead the UNDP asserts that the source of the problem lies in 
power, poverty and inequality. Households in high-income urban areas of 
Asia, Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa have access to several 
hundred liters of water each day through public utilities, while slum 
dwellers and poor households in the rural areas of those same countries 
have access to far less than the 20 liters a day per person required to 
meet the most basic human needs. The same analysis is said to apply to 
the areas of agriculture and industry. Income levels and access to 
water and sanitation systems are key elements. UNDP explicitly rejects 
the notion that the global water shortage is due to population 
increases.

  Fortunately, the United States Government is acting to provide more 
safe water and proper sanitation to the poor of the world. Thanks to 
the Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor

[[Page E1091]]

Act of 2005, authored by our good friend Congressman Earl Blumenauer 
who we welcomed as a witness at the hearing, the provision of 
affordable and equitable access to safe water and sanitation in 
developing countries is a legislative component of our country's 
foreign assistance programs.
  I have learned that the lack of access can be addressed by relatively 
simple means by an amazingly few but deeply committed people. I learned 
this first-hand when I was in Uganda last year and met Robert Wright 
from Living Waters International. I often emphasize the importance of 
faith-based organizations in meeting the global health needs of the 
world, and Living Waters is a Christian ministry that implements water 
development through training, equipping and consulting. Robert was 
living a comfortable life in my home state of New Jersey when he 
decided to move himself and his family to the remote regions of Uganda 
to assist the poor. He went to a school operated by Living Waters to 
learn how to drill a well to provide water for the hospital he was 
building. Although he was suffering from a bout of malaria, he drove 
several hours to Kampala to inform our delegation of the work of Living 
Waters and to press the need for water for the peoples of Africa. 
Therefore, I was particularly pleased to welcome Mr. Malcolm Morris, 
the chairman of Millennium Water Alliance, which represents a number of 
partners including Living Water International, who informed the 
Subcommittee of the work being done by faith-based organizations on 
this issue.

                          ____________________