My family just walked out the door, along with our dog, to go on a hike around a beautiful lake near our house. Each of my family members grabbed a cup and filled it with clean filtered water as they always do.  They also took along a portable water dish for our dog.  This simple everyday act, filling a cup with clean water, is something that we take for granted.  Clean water is easily accessible for us.  I have never worried about going somewhere and not having clean water to drink.  Families in other countries do not have these same luxuries. GOAL #6: Clean Water and Sanitation is part of the United Nations’ 17 Global Goals of Sustainable Development.  In only 9 days, on September 25th, 2015, at the UN Sustainable Development Summit, 193 World leaders will join together to adopt 17 important Global Goals.

Goal 6 is very straightforward: To ensure access to water and sanitation for all.  There is sufficient fresh water on this planet, we just need to make sure it is clean for all to drink.  It is heartbreaking to read that every year, millions of people, most of them children, die from diseases associated with a scarce water supply and poor sanitation and hygiene.  A lack of water, poor water quality, and poor sanitation have a negative impact on food security, employment choices, and educational opportunities for poor families around the world.  In many areas, usually in the poorest countries, a drought can occur which then worsens hunger and malnutrition.

Here are some facts and figures from the United Nations.

• 1.7 billion people have gained access to safe drinking water since 1990, but 663 million people are still without.
• Between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of the global population using an improved drinking water source has increased from 76 percent to 91 percent.
• Water scarcity affects more than 40 percent of the global population and is projected to rise.
• 2.4 billion people lack access to basic sanitation services, such as toilets or latrines.
• Hydropower is the most important and widely-used renewable source of energy and as of 2011, represented 16 percent of total electricity production worldwide.