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WEDNESDAY, March 21 (HealthDay News) -- On March 22, thirsty New York City diners will be helping poor children around the world with every gulp.
Diners at 225 restaurants around the city will be asked to pay $1 for something that normally comes free: the water that arrives with their meal.
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That dollar will then be turned over to UNICEF's "Tap Project," an initiative aimed at bringing fresh, safe water to the children of the developing world.
Coinciding with U.N. World Water Day on Thursday, the project -- which is set to expand to other U.S. cities in coming years -- will also help spread awareness of a global health issue "that affects a billion people every day," said Marcus Samuelsson, chef and owner of the upscale Aquavit and Riingo restaurants. "This project is a way to get involved, because I think everyone can afford a dollar and get familiarized with the problem," he said.
Henk Van Norden, senior adviser for water, environment and sanitation and officer-in-charge of UNICEF's Water Section in New York, agreed. "One and a half million children die every year" from unsafe drinking water, he said.
He added, "So, this effort can give people who are fortunate enough to be able to sit down in a restaurant where you can drink water straight from the tap -- those of us who belong to the privileged of this world -- a chance to share a little bit and help those millions who are not so fortunate."
Funds collected from the drive will go toward supporting UNICEF projects already under way to help the more than one billion children in developing countries who do not have access to clean water.
Samuelsson has served as a UNICEF ambassador since 2000. "I am from Ethiopia, from an orphanage, and I go back there every year," he said. "I can tell you my own extended family does not have clean drinking water. So, waking up at 4 a.m. in the morning to go miles and miles to get drinking water is something that's very real for me."
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