Guided Tour on Water, Sanitation and Health
"We shall not finally defeat AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, or any of the other infectious diseases that plague the developing world until we have also won the battle for safe drinking-water, sanitation and basic health care."
Every year, over 1.8 million people die of diarrheoal diseases (including cholera) and 1.3 million succumb to malaria (2004 figures). Of all the deaths attributable to diarrhoeal diseases in developing countries, 90% are of children under 5 years old, vs. only 9% in developed countries.
In addition, the lack of adequate drinking-water and/or sanitation facilities, coupled with poor hygiene, imposes an extremely high disease burden on millions of children and adults through schistosomiasis, intestinal worms, hepatitis, typhoid and other diseases (see box). In turn, this severely compromises well-being and productivity and it aggravates poverty.
Sufficient and better quality drinking-water and basic sanitation, combined with good hygiene practices, can cut this toll dramatically, and simple, low-cost household water treatment has the potential to save additional lives.
Common diseases related to poor water supply and sanitation
Diarrhoea: 88% of diarrhoeal disease is attributed to unsafe water supply, inadequate sanitation and hygiene. [definition…]
Malaria: Intensified irrigation, dams and other water related projects contribute importantly to this disease burden by providing ample breeding grounds for disease-transmitting mosquitoes. [definition…]
Schistosomiasis: An estimated 160 million people are infected with schistosomiasis, which causes tens of thousands of deaths every year, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa. Man-made reservoirs and poorly designed irrigation schemes are main drivers of schistosomiasis expansion and intensification. [definition…]
Trachoma: 6 million people are visually impaired by trachoma. The disease is strongly related to lack of face washing, often due to absence of nearby sources of safe water. Improving access to safe water sources and better hygiene practices can reduce trachoma morbidity by 27%. Intestinal worms infect about 1 in 10 people in the developing world and the infections can lead to cognitive impairment, anaemia or massive dysentery. [definition…]
Japanese encephalitis: 20% of clinical cases of Japanese encephalitis die, and 35% suffer permanent brain damage. Improved management for irrigation of water resources reduces transmission of disease, in South, South East, and East Asia. [definition…]
Hepatitis A: There are 1.5 million cases of clinical hepatitis A every year. [definition…]
Arsenic: Arsenic contamination of ground water causes severe skin lesions and has been found in many countries, including Argentina, Bangladesh, Chile, China, India, Mexico, Thailand and the United States. [definition…]
Fluorosis: Over 26 million people in China suffer from dental fluorosis due to elevated fluoride in their drinking-water, leading to an estimated 1 million cases of skeletal fluorosis. [definition…]
Source: Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Links to Health, facts and figures updated November 2004.
Learn more about water-related diseases