The failure of governments in both rich and poor countries to prioritize basic sanitation is killing thousands of children every day, according to two reports released today by WaterAid and PATH. And a third report released yesterday suggests that the global economic crisis may increase the death rate, at least in Africa.
All three reports offered this constructive advice: Promote access to drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene together as part of national health care agendas. “It’s just unfathomable that so little development aid is going to stop this enormous global killer,” says John Sauer, communications director for Water Advocates, a nonprofit group that works with PATH and WaterAid. “There’s no excuse not to prioritize funding for very simple, low-cost interventions. This is solvable.”
The World Health Organization estimates that 28 percent of the 9.7 million children who die before the age of 5 every year do so because of poor sanitation and unsafe water. Ironically, that death rate may climb because “the recent and positive focus on … the delivery of health services” does not include preventative meas... Read more
