Gordon Brown joins coast walk for WaterAid

On 11 September 2010, former Prime Minister and current MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath Gordon Brown joined a team of fundraisers walking the Fife Coast Path to raise money for WaterAid.

Mr Brown and his family teamed up with walkers on the Dalgety Bay to Aberdour stretch of the Fife Coast Path for the charity's Coast Along for WaterAid event, which saw sponsored walkers across Scotland, England and Wales take to the coast to raise vital funds. Money raised will help WaterAid improve access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene for those living in poverty in the world's poorest countries.

Having chosen WaterAid to receive donations linked to the official No 10 Christmas card in 2009 while Mr Brown was Prime Minister, the family was keen to continue their support of the charity.

Mr Brown said: "Taking part in Coast Along was a great opportunity to raise awareness of WaterAid's important work to help some of the world's poorest communities gain access to safe water and in particular sanitation which is so crucial to the health of billions around the world.
"It's unacceptable that in this day and age some 2.6 billion people do not have access to adequate sanitation, and 884 million do not have safe water. As well as causing millions of entirely preventable deaths, particularly among children, the lack of safe sanitation and water keeps families, communities and nations trapped in poverty."

Water and sanitation will be key issues at the UN Millennium Development Goals summit in New York (20-22 September), which both Gordon and Sarah Brown will be attending. With only five years to go, the goal of halving the proportion of people living without access to sanitation is already 30 years behind target. At current rates of progress, this target won’t be met in Sub-Saharan Africa for another 200 years.

Gordon Brown joined a total of 752 people in 146 teams who collectively walked 850 miles of coast paths around the UK achieving a combined mileage of 6,628 – further than the distance from London to Lagos and back.

Coast Along 2011, which will include even more coast paths, will be held on Saturday 10 September. The event is set to grow each year with the aim to ultimately encompass the entire coast of the UK.

For more information contact Rachel Pilkington: 07887 521 552 / 07887 521 552 / 020 7793 4524 020 7793 4524 / rachelpilkington@wateraid.org

Notes to Editors

WaterAid's vision is of a world where everyone has access to safe water and sanitation. Our mission is to transform lives by improving access to safe water, hygiene and sanitation in the world’s poorest communities. We work with partners and influence decision-makers to maximise our impact.

• At least 4,000 children die every day as a result of diseases caused by unclean water and poor sanitation.


• 884 million people in the world do not have access to safe water. This is roughly one in eight of the world's population.


• 2.6 billion people in the world do not have access to adequate sanitation, this is almost two fifths of the world's population.


• Just £15 can enable one person to access safe water, improved hygiene and sanitation.