red-waL_[136]Thank you so much for your article “Dispatch from the Hot Zone” (spring 2015). It is wonderful to see the commitment of so many Ephs in battling the Ebola epidemic in West Africa, and they deserve our deepest thanks. It should also be noted, however, that waterborne illnesses throughout Africa (and Asia and Latin America) exact a far greater toll on the population, especially among children, than Ebola. In fact, since 2000, more people have died of waterborne illnesses than from all wars combined. It is going to require a lasting commitment on all of our parts to ensure that everyone has access to what we, living in the U.S., take so much for granted—clean water.

—David H. Albert ’71, board chairman, Friendly Water for the World, Olympia, Wash.