A Busy Week for Water

To coincide with the World Water Forum currently underway in Istanbul, today CSIS hosted the event "Renewing American Leadership on the Global Water Crisis" on Capitol Hill to bring attention to the global water crisis and the role of the US government as it attempts to manage the global challenge.  The extent of the water problem is alarming - nearly 1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water and over twice as many live every day without basic sanitation – and the costs of hesitation are great -  6,000 children die each day because of water-related diseases. In 2005, the US government took an important step in addressing this problem by passing the Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act, but its goal of reducing the number of people without access to safe drinking water or sanitation is threatened by a lack of resources.  In an effort to save the legacy of Paul Simon and his work on water over the years, his successor in the Senate, Senator Richard Durbin, has introduced the Paul Simon Water for the World Act that would expand access to safe drinking water and sanitation to 100 million people around the globe and ensure that the original legislation is fully funded.  Senator Durbin stated that “the global water crisis is a quiet killer,” but with water scarcities threatening stability around the globe in places ranging from Bolivia to Iraq, people are beginning to cry out for change.  Their voices are reaching the halls of Washington, and it is time for the US government to seriously confront the issue of water.

Tomorrow, GSI will launch its “Declaration on US Policy and the Global Challenge of Water” with co-chairs Neville Isdell, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Coca-Cola, and Senator William Frist giving remarks on how best to improve US government policy on water, even beyond the pending legislation mentioned above.  For more information about the event and to RSVP, click here.