Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Links to Health:
Facts and Figures
WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) 28aug02
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"Safe water supply and adequate Dr Gro Harlem
Brundtland |
Global burden of disease from water, sanitation and hygiene
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3.4 million people, mostly children, die annually from water-related diseases.
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2.4 billion people lack access to basic sanitation include the poorest in the world.
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1.1 billion people lack access to even improved water sources.
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Access to safe water supply and sanitation is fundamental for better health, poverty alleviation and development.
Diarrhoea
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2.1 million people die every year from diarrhoeal diseases (including cholera) associated with inadequate water supply, sanitation and hygiene. The majority are children in developing countries.
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Water, hygiene and sanitation interventions reduce diarrhoea incidence by 26% and mortality by 65%.
Malaria
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1 million people - mainly children under 5 - die of malaria each year.
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300 million people suffer from malaria every year, 90% of the disease burden is in Africa and South of the Sahara.
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Intensified irrigation, dams and other water related projects contribute importantly to this disease burden.
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Better management of water resources reduces transmission of malaria and other vector borne diseases.
Schistosomiasis
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200 million people are infected with schistosomiasis.
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20 million suffer severe consequences.
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The disease is still found in 74 countries of the world.
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Basic sanitation reduces the disease by up to 77%.
Arsenic
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35 - 77 million from a total of 125 million in Bangladesh are at risk of drinking contaminated water.
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At least 100 000 cases of debilitating skin lesions caused by arsenic are believed to have occurred in Bangladesh.
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Arsenic contamination of ground water is a global problem. It has been found in many countries, including Argentina, Bangladesh, Chile, China, India, Mexico, Thailand and the United States.
Trachoma
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6 million people are visually impaired by Trachoma.
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146 million are threatened by blindness.
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500 million people are at risk from Trachoma.
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Trachoma can be prevented by improving sanitary conditions and hygiene practices.
Japanese encephalitis
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20% of persons with Japanese encephalitis with clinical symptoms die.
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35% have permanent brain damage.
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Improved management for irrigation of water resources reduces transmission of disease, in South, South East, and East Asia.
Fluorosis
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It is estimated that nearly 28 million people suffer from chronic fluorosis primarily due to exposure to fluoride in drinking-water, in China alone.
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Removal of excessive fluoride from drinking-water reduces crippling fluorosis.
Hepatitis
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1.5 million cases of clinical hepatitis A every year.
For more information, visit www.who.int/phe or email bravardf@who.int
source: http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/General/factsandfigures.htm 10sep02
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