Children are particularly vulnerable: 1.5 million every year - approximately 4,000 children every day - die from illnesses caused by poor quality drinking water or inadequate hygiene practices. One of the most frequent causes of death in children under the age of 5 is diarrhea: 1.4 million children under 5 fall victim to it and die each year. 88% of these deaths can be directly attributed to problems with water. Insufficient clean water, even for washing hands, can be linked to the spread of other illnesses such as intestinal worms that infect many children and increase their vulnerability to malnutrition, and anemia.
"The impact of water on the health and survival of children is enormous", continues Valerio Neri. "For example it is shown that in the case of trachoma, a bacterial infection that causes blindness in children, the rate of infection would drop by 27% if more water was available. In addition, it is estimated that greater access to clean drinking water would reduce of at least 25% of the cases of diarrhea while improvements in sanitation facilities could lead to a reduction of 30% in child mortality, equal to 2.5 million children's lives saved every year. We are calling for simple solutions - like the availability of clean water in residential areas, toilets, and soap for washing hands".
For many parts of the world, having clean water nearby, or toilet facilities at school is only a dream. In sub-Saharan Africa, 42% of the population cannot access water delivery systems. As well, 18% of the population must walk to reach a source of drinking water: the task of collecting of water for the whole family is most often delegated to women and young girls.
Problems for children
Children throughout the world suffer greatly because they don't have access to safe water and sanitation. Their health, education and family relationships are affected. In many countries children, particularly girls, are responsible for the collection of water. Girls as young as 10 years old may take the main responsibility for drawing and carrying the family's water.
The size of the water container may vary with the size of the child, but each liter of water carried weighs 1kg and may need to be carried up to three or four miles. Carrying such heavy weights is damaging in the long term for adult women, and for girls there are even more serious implications given their physical immaturity.
Carrying such heavy weights is damaging in the long term for adult women, and for girls there are even more serious implications given their physical immaturity. In particular, there can be damage to the head, neck and spine. In extreme cases deformity of the spine can lead to problems in pregnancy and childbirth.
Effect on education
Collecting water is not only physically stressful but extremely time consuming. One of the most serious effects is that girls are often not able to attend school.
Many children who do manage to go to school have very low attendance figures and often drop out. Both boys and girls are needed by poor families to help either farming or in doing domestic tasks at home. They have little time to play.
The lack of adequate sanitation facilities in schools also prevents girls from attending school, particularly when they are menstruating. Of the 113 million children currently not enrolled in school worldwide, 60% are girls. Girls' attendance at school is increased through improved sanitation.
For example, in Bangladesh, a school sanitation programme has increased the enrolment of girls by 11% every year since it began in 1990. Collecting water is not only physically stressful but extremely time consuming. One of the most serious effects is that girls are often not able to attend school.
Many children who do manage to go to school have very low attendance figures and often drop out. Both boys and girls are needed by poor families to help either farming or in doing domestic tasks at home. They have little time to play. The lack of adequate sanitation facilities in schools also prevents girls from attending school, particularly when they are menstruating. Of the 113 million children currently not enrolled in school worldwide, 60% are girls. Girls' attendance at school is increased through improved sanitation. For example, in Bangladesh, a school sanitation programme has increased the enrolment of girls by 11% every year since it began in 1990.
Health matters
In areas where water is scarce children may not be able to wash often enough, resulting in disease. Children are most vulnerable to the diseases that result from a lack of water, dirty water and poor sanitation. In developing countries each child has an average of ten attacks of diarrhea before the age of five.
Malnourished children are more vulnerable to disease, and prone to diarrhoea, pneumonia, measles and malaria. These four diseases, plus malnutrition, account for seven out of ten childhood deaths in developing countries. For example in Zambia, one in five children dies before their fifth birthday. In contrast in the UK less than 1% of children die before they reach the age of five.
Diarrhoea is the second most serious killer of children under five worldwide (after pneumonia) but in most cases it can be prevented or treated. Children's ill health places an increased burden of care on the women and girls who look after them, adding to their already heavy workload. This and the time spent collecting water can prevent women from earning money which can in turn mean they are unable to afford to send their children to school.
A lack of water also means that children cannot wash often enough and suffer from diseases as a result. These include skin diseases like scabies and eye infections such as trachoma, the largest cause of preventable blindness in the developing world. Their conclusion was that treatment was not a long-term solution: educating people to regularly wash their face, hands and eyes was the best preventative measure. The problem was education and lack of water. Providing children with clean and accessible water and toilet facilities changes their lives. Their health improves; they have more time with their families and more regular and varied meals.
Prepared By; S.Thanikaseelan (MDE, PGDep in Development Economic), Batticaloa, Sri Lanka.
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