Drop of Life for Every Ethiopian Child

Drop of Life · £25

Drop of Life for Every Ethiopian Child

Muntada Aid is committed to providing access to clean drinking water to improve the health of 50,000 people in Ethiopia.

In Ethiopia, 60% to 80% of health problems are due to communicable diseases attributable to an unsafe water supply. Diarrhoea is the second leading cause of death among under-fives, accounting for more than 25,000 child deaths every year.

We are building a series of solar-powered water projects in the Silte province of central Ethiopia — reaching at least 30,000 people across 20 villages.

Child Health

The impact on children's health

Limited access to clean water jeopardises a child's chances of survival. Water scarcity increases the risk of diarrhoeal disease, a major killer of children under age five.

Other debilitating diseases such as cholera, hepatitis A, typhoid and polio are also linked to contaminated water sources. For children in conflicts, unsafe water can be just as deadly as bullets. On average, children under the age of 15 account for 73% of all cholera deaths.

For younger children the situation is even worse: children under five are more than 20 times more likely to die from diseases linked to unsafe water and sanitation than from direct violence.

A story of dignity

Daughter of the Desert – Barakatu

“Water should not be a privilege. It is a human right.”

This is the story of Barakatu and how access to clean water is changing her life in the quiet corner of the Sahara.

Barakatu is 18 and lives with her parents in the village of Tanka in Niger. Due to the family's socio-economic situation, Barakatu had to leave education after finishing her primary school.