Saturday, March 22 marks the 16th annual World Water Day, a day to commemorate the importance of the global water crisis. The United Nations General Assembly designated the first World Water Day in 1992 to focus on critical water issues for developing nations and honors the day each year to spotlight a particular theme about water.

The World Water Crisis: Fast Facts

• More than one billion people worldwide do not have access to clean water.
• Water-related diseases are the leading cause of death in the world, taking the lives of 6,000 people a day.
• Every 15 seconds a child dies from a preventable, water-related disease.
• 40 billion hours are lost annually to hauling water, a chore primarily undertaken by women and girls.

World Water Day Links

Learn more about World Water Day 2008 and how you can help honor this special event:

UN Water:
http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday/flashindex.html

World Water Day:
http://www.worldwaterday.org/

World Water Day Events:
http://www.worldwaterday.net/

American Museum of Natural History: http://www.amnh.org/programs/specials/worldwaterday/

Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Day_for_Water

Global Water Partners:
http://water.org/waterpartners.aspx?pgID=902&newsID=18&exCompID=108