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Experts from more than 100 countries are gathering in the Swedish capital Stockholm to discuss global water and sanitation issues, at the start of World Water Week today. The organizers have emphasized the importance of addressing the problem of water and sanitation in eliminating poverty, disease and gender inequality, as well as curbing environmental damage. Barbara Miller reports:
     The statistics of the worldwide water crisis are staggering. 1 in 5 people lack access to a safe water supply. 2 in 5 don’t have basic sanitation and a child dies every 30 seconds, as a result of a lack of clean drinking water and sanitation. For a long time what are known as hard approaches to solving these problems were predominantly applied, the construction for example of large-scale infrastructure such as dams and irrigation systems. This year the conference hosts at the Stockholm International Water Institute want to focus attention on ensuring these methods are balanced with soft approaches such as marketing campaigns to promote hand washing. The conference will also consider the impact of corruption and development, how climate change affects world water supplies, and the opportunities for water sharing in the Middle East, which is facing severe water scarcity.