8 million deaths* per year on the one hand, and on the other 500,000 deaths on average due to armed conflicts! This is the tragic reality, a tidal wave of silent deaths. To fight against this tragedy, the general public must be made fully aware of the situation, in order to put pressure on political decision-makers, and this is not really the case.
According to a survey carried out for SOLIDARITES, only 1% of our fellow citizens are aware that unsafe drinking water is the number one cause of death in the world.
In the run up to World Water Day and the World Water Forum in Istanbul from March 16th to 22nd, we are offering the opportunity for journalists to interview hydraulic engineers working on one of the 16 SOLIDARITES humanitarian missions (in Afghanistan, Chad, D.R. Congo...).
Among our humanitarian missions is Sudan, from which we have just been expelled by President Omar Al Bechir, where we had been providing drinking water and sanitation, food aid and essential commodities on a daily basis to 300,000 people in Darfur.
Alain Boinet, director general and founder of SOLIDARITES declares: « public awareness is an essential prelude and a determining factor to mobilize the resources required to reverse the tide of deaths due to water-borne diseases during humanitarian crises, and journalists have an essential role to play in informing the general public about this issue. »
*L'Eau. Michel Camdessus. Robert Laffont. 2004.
We are available to answer your questions today.
Press contact: Constance Decorde - 01 80 21 05 91 or cdecorde@solidarites.org
For further information about SOLIDARITES, please visit www.solidarites.org