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GENEVA: Unsafe water leads to one in 10 diseases and
6 percent of deaths worldwide, according to estimates in a report to
be published by the World Health Organization on Thursday.
While the UN agency estimates
that problems relating to water cause 9.1 percent of diseases
recorded yearly, the report highlights this disproportionately
affects the world’s poorest countries.
“In the 35 most affected
countries, over 15 percent of diseases could easily be prevented by
improved water, sanitation and hygiene,” report author Annette
Pruss-Ustun told the press.
In developed countries, water
causes less than 1 percent of deaths. In developing countries, the
toll leaps to an average 8 percent—with the extreme case being
Angola, at 24 percent.
Illnesses like malaria, dengue
fever, or diarrhea can be transmitted through the water supply.
The problem particularly
threatens children. An unsafe water supply is to blame for 22
percent of illnesses in those under 14 years of age, and one quarter
of young deaths.
As a solution, Pruss-Ustun
encouraged governments to invest in this area. Every dollar invested
would bring an additional benefit of $8 in healthcare savings and
productivity, she said.
--AFP
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