Keo Samon, a rice farmer in southeastern Cambodia, had no toilet in her home. Nor was there even an outhouse or latrine for Keo and her husband and five daughters. Instead, they would defecate on land around the home or in the rice fields.

That changed after the Water...

Imagine if we lived in a world where everyone has access to clean, safe drinking water. It would go down as one of humanity's great achievements, as inspiring as the elimination of smallpox. It would be a significant advance in the fight against global poverty and would help the international...

In the rich world diarrhea might seem relatively harmless. In Sub-Saharan Africa it is the leading killer of children. Worldwide diarrheal diseases kill 4,000 children under five years old every day. There is a pressing need to tackle this crisis.

However, in these times of hard economic choices, finding common...

In these difficult economic times, what would you say to an investment that offers an $8 return for every $1 you put in? What if I sweetened the deal by saying that as an ethical investment, it would lead to better health, higher rates of school attendance and would save...

The crisis gripping the Horn of Africa continues to devastate families and communities. Twelve million people in Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti are suffering food shortages and the worst drought in sixty years.

The needs are many and the scale of the crisis is daunting. But there is evidence...

Urban poverty is growing. The cities in the developing world are overloading as millions of people each week arrive to find a way to survive. Most will be forced to set up home in makeshift slums with no safe water, sanitation, electricity or security. This is a reality right now...

Co-authored by Julio Frenk, Dean of the Faculty, Harvard School of Public Health

"Often the women don't have clean water, we find that there are a lot of difficulties, especially with home deliveries. They draw the water from shallow wells, yes, it's quite difficult. And that usually causes a lot...

The confirmation of cholera deaths in Somalia offers a chilling reminder of what happens when there is no safe water and inadequate sanitation. The refugee crisis in Somalia is fueled by the worst drought in the horn of Africa in over 60 years.

This humanitarian disaster is a glaring...

The road trip from Monrovia to River Gee County in Liberia's far eastern corner is a long and wearying one. Fourteen years of civil war have taken their toll on this proud country's infrastructure and roads were a key casualty. Progress in rebuilding crucial services has been slow but steady,...

Among the resolutions debated at this week's World Health Assembly in Geneva, is an historic opportunity to finally rid the world of one of its most debilitating diseases: guinea worm.

Dracunculiasis, a waterborne parasitic disease caused by the guinea worm, only remains in four countries: Mali, Ethiopia, Sudan and Ghana....

For us the act of collecting water poses no risk. We go to the tap and fill our glass. But for many in the developing world, particularly women and girls, such a day-to-day chore can be extremely dangerous.

Sixteen year old Scovia lives with her grandparents in a small village...

We have recently been reminded of two of the biggest natural disasters of 2010. In January, it was one year since the earthquake in Haiti and six months after the worst floods in Pakistan's history.

Both disasters reminded us of the crucial role that access to clean water and sanitation...

Cholera has dominated the headlines in recent weeks. In Haiti, but also in Nigeria and Pakistan, there have been outbreaks killing hundreds of people. The great tragedy that is too rarely reported is that cholera is entirely and easily preventable. With sanitation in particular but also with safe water and...

There is still one subject in international development that goes unmentioned. It is an issue that touches on the lives and health of millions of individuals, and one which world leaders have promised to address.

Sanitation is one of the last remaining taboos, but today a staggering 2.6 billion...