James McCauley/WaterAid
A girl protests about the dangers of walking long distances to find water in Jeldu Woreda, Ethiopia. This week over 300,000 people globally are taking part in "the world walks for water and sanitation" campaign, calling on governments to keep to their international commitments.
Zute Lightfoot/WaterAid
Immaculee Mujawamaliya, 31, collects water from a crocodile-infested river with a girl from the Kajeruba village, Rwanda.
GMB Akash/Panos/WaterAid
Tea pickers collect water from the nearby "chora", or lake in the Kewachora tea garden, Sylhet, Bangladesh. The women use the dirty water to cook, clean and drink.
GMB Akash/Panos/WaterAid
When collecting water, some women in Koyra, Bangladesh have had to walk across an area of barren ground that has been contaminated with saline after cyclone Aila struck in 2009.
Dieter Telemans/WaterAid
A young boy washes himself at a hand pump in Tamil Nadu, India. The water is too salty for drinking and is only used for bathing and cleaning purposes.
Anna Kari/WaterAid
Every two weeks during high tide these slums in Madagascar are flooded, pushing up waste and rubbish and contaminating water supplies.
Anna Kari/WaterAid
Local people operate a water kiosk in Miandrivizo, Madagascar. If international targets on water and sanitation are met, the economic benefit to the world would be $60bn annually, according to some studies.
Layton Thompson/WaterAid
At the start of the dry season, villagers from Ourare Alaye Tem in northern Mali are forced to make a four-day trek into neighbouring Burkina Faso in search of water.
Jason Larkin/WaterAid
Villagers in Bokola, Malawi celebrate as their community hits fresh water. Malawi is one of the only countries in Sub-Saharan Africa currently on track to reach its water MDG target by 2015 - to halve the proportion of people without access to clean water.
WaterAid/WaterAid
School children perform a dance at Shree Krishna Mandir School, as they learn about the importance of hygiene in Kathmandu, Nepal. Hygiene promotion is one of the most cost effective health interventions, according to the World Bank.