Better sanitation could save 2 million lives a year

Pouya Rohani

6:27 pm

11/20/2010

Inadequate sewer system and sanitation can cause an increase in dangerous disease among the population. Many serious diseases can spread through contaminated water and can kill large number of people in less than a few hours if it leave untreated. Based on the studies that was done and published in the Public Library of Science Medial journal, there is huge gap in sanitation handling in developed and developing countries. Developing countries have only 53% access to high quality sanitation. People in industrial countries have much higher access to high quality sanitation about 99%. Even within developing countries high quality sanitation can be even more divided among urban and rural areas, 71% to 39% respectively. This studies also mentioned that two third of 2.6 million people with no access to sanitation live in Asia and sub-Sahara Africa. Twenty percent of all child deaths around the world plus seven percent of various diseases can be reduced simply by safe sanitation and access to drinking water with good hygiene. Sandy Cairncross who led one of the studies mentioned that each year 2.4 million death can be avoided if everyone simply and practice adequate and reliable sanitation and has access to clean drinking water. He also mentioned that most of the death happened in children from diarrhea and other diseases attributed to malnutrition.

I am sure that very soon huge social movement will be started to prevent many of deaths that can be prevented. It is unfortunate that so many people are dying each year simply because those individuals who are in power simply do not care. Governments of many of these developing countries should be pushed by world health organization and United Nations to provide more resources to their peoples. Health problems can cause other social problems if untreated or not cared for.
Source:

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6AE4EY20101115