President-Elect Trump and the Human Right to Water

Each day we slake our thirst with clean water flowing from faucets, as if breathing air. This is not true for more than one in ten of the world’s population, about 663 million people who lack access to safe drinking water. 

According to the World Bank, 99% of the U.S. population has access to improved water sources, such as piped household water, public taps, or wells compared to only 49% in Angola. The International Bottled Water Association reports that the average consumption of bottled water in the U.S. in 2015 was more than 36 gallons per person. What most Americans take for granted has been deemed to be a human right. Challenges remain even in the U.S., with the recent lead contamination of water sources in Flint, Michigan. The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation at its 80th Plenary Session last year. Such formal steps are a great start. Fulfilling the goals of this resolution will be the next challenge. An op-ed by Kean University provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Jeffrey Toney, recently published in Sigma Xi Speaks, addresses the challenges facing the U.N. resolution on the right to safe drinking water and how the Trump administration can act to forward the resolution's goals. Read the whole story here.