Millions of Children Die Each Year

Where and Why

Water-related diseases are nearly absent from the daily lives of people living in rich countries.  However, they continue to plague the daily lives of people living in poor nations.  Each year more than five million people die from water-related diseases.  Even if the explicit Millennium Goals announced by the United Nations in 2000 are achieved, between 34 and 76 million people will perish from water-related diseases by 2020.[1]

In 2007, 9.2 million children died before the age of 5, with 92% of these deaths occurring in Asia and Africa.  Half of child deaths occurred in Africa, the most difficult place for a child to survive. MORE

Diarrheal disease

Over 90% of the cause of diarrheal deaths is unsafe drinking-water, poor sanitation and hygiene. [2]  Human and animal feces are the main source of diarrheal pathogens. As this F-diagram shows, these bugs enter the environment when people and animals defecate, and are then spread to other humans by the four F’s: on fingers, flies, in fluids (mostly water), and via surfaces, such as fields.

Click for larger version of Disease Barrier Diagram

Other water-related diseases

Water-washed diseases are caused by lack of water for personal and domestic cleanliness or contact with contaminated water. Some examples include skin and eye infections such as trachoma and scabies.  Trachoma is a contagious eye disease that can result in blindness, which in itself is a pathway to poverty.  It is estimated that 5 million people are currently suffering with visual impairments due to trachoma. [3]

Water-based diseases are transmitted via an intermediate host which lives in water and cause illness in humans who ingest the water or use it for washing. Some examples are guinea worm and schistosomiasis, which the World Health Organization reports currently infects 200 million people in 76 countries.

Please see the World Health Organization's Fact Sheets on Water and Sanitation-Related Diseases for more information.

Malnutrition

On average, children in poor countries have an average of four to five episodes of serious diarrhea annually, severely undermining their nutritional status and propelling them into a vicious cycle of disease.  It is estimated that unsafe water, lack of sanitation and insufficient hygiene are responsible for 50% of underweight children in the world.  Malnourished children are more vulnerable to other infectious diseases, and are less likely to fully recover. The World Health Organization estimates that an additional 860,000 children die annually from malnutrition and the consequences of malnutrition, induced by unsafe water, inadequate sanitation and insufficient hygiene. [4]

Malaria, filariasis and HIV/AIDS

Chronic diarrhea is a leading cause of death of people living with HIV/AIDS, and also further weakens the immune system, making people living with HIV/AIDS more vulnerable to other opportunistic infections such as tuberculosis. [5]

Neonatal disorders

Almost 40 per cent of child deaths occur in the first month of life.   These neonatal deaths are closely linked to hygiene.  UNICEF estimates that clean delivery practices, such as hand-washing and a clean birthing environment, have the potential to prevent the majority of newborn infections. [6]

Acute respiratory infections (pneumonia)

Acute respiratory infections, namely pneumonia, are another major killer of children.  Handwashing with soap can reduce the spread of pneumonia and other ARIs.  A lot of attention has been given to treatment of ARIs, but recent studies show that hand-washing can significantly reduce the spread of respiratory pathogens. [7]