WASHINGTON, DC — PSI and a group of leading international health organizations have joined together with GOOD to launch a cutting-edge video series aimed to mobilize broad grassroots support on the global problems of access to clean water. The series launch coincided with World Water Day on March 22.
With edgy content and a compelling call to action, the videos are designed to raise public attention on the grave risks people in developing countries face with improper access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation. Diarrhea, directly caused by these factors, is the second leading cause of child death in the world today. However, a 2007 study found that only one in four college-educated American adults were able to identify it as a major developing world killer.
The videos were produced by GOOD, the integrated media company for people who want to live well and do good. The videos weave the prevalence of diarrhea and unclean water into iconic moments in film and television, bringing the international crisis into popular culture. In one video, for example, kids are excitedly sliding down the chute of the popular kids toy, Crocodile Mile, only to splash into a big pool of sludgy, contaminated water. The alarming images in each video are followed by messages encouraging viewers to visit www.worldH2Oday.org to learn more about the water crisis and how they can help.
GOOD will also produce a special video from its award-winning Transparency series that presents startling facts about the world water crisis, such as 443 million school days are lost each year due to water-related infections and illness.
Among the organizations driving the effort to promote water sanitation are PSI, the American Chemistry Council and Procter & Gamble Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program.
“Unfortunately in the developing world, a child dies every twenty seconds from lack of safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene. These are needless deaths as there are simple and inexpensive solutions available now,” said Sally Cowal, senior vice president and chief liaison officer of PSI. “One solution to help ensure that each sip of water is safe to drink, is to promote simple, inexpensive methods to treat and safely store water in individual households. These can be adopted quickly in emergency situations and for sustained use, making an immediate difference on the lives of those without access to safe, piped water.”
“Chemistry is essential to safe drinking water, from disinfection to delivery,” said Robert Simon, managing director of ACC’s Chlorine Chemistry Division. “We are pleased to join in this partnership to highlight the importance of safe water here in the U.S. and around the globe.”
GOOD President Craig Shapiro said, “We are thrilled to work with these organizations to produce a provocative series of videos which will hopefully stimulate thought and action related to water.”
To learn more about this effort and World Water Day, please visit www.worldH2Oday.org. The videos are available on www.good.is and on GOOD’s and our partner organizations’ Facebook and YouTube sites.
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