September 20, 2010
WaterAid warns millions of children will die by 2015 if action is not taken
A child plays in a slum in Bangladesh surrounded by dirty water
WaterAid/Brent Stirton
More than 14 million children have died of diarrhea since world leaders promised to tackle global poverty ten years ago, WaterAid announced today.
The international development agency also issued a stark warning at the start of the UN Millennium Development Goal Summit that a further 6.8 million children will die by 2015 if action is not taken. Some 4000 children die from diarrhea every day in the developing world.
“Diarrhea is the biggest killer of children in Africa today. The terrible truth is that these deaths could be prevented with sanitation and clean water. It’s not rocket science. No one needs to die from diarrhea in the 21st century", said Mariame Dem, WaterAid’s Head of West Africa region.
With something as simple as a toilet we can accelerate progress across the MDGs. Sanitation means children’s lives saved, it means education for girls and it brings prosperity. The world can achieve these things but that means action on sanitation - now not tomorrow 
Mariame Dem, WaterAid's Head of West Africa region.
The warning comes following new figures from the World Health Organisation, which show that sanitation is now the most off-track MDG target in sub-Saharan Africa, and the second most off-track target globally.
At current rates of progress, the 2015 target to halve the proportion of people living without sanitation will not be met globally until 2049; in Sub-Saharan Africa not until the 23rd century, some 200 years too late.
Diarrheal diseases caused by poor sanitation and unsafe water kill more children than AIDS, malaria and TB combined.
Last week WaterAid released a damning report
Ignored: biggest child killer - The world is ignoring sanitation outlining the consequences of government inaction on sanitation.
Drawing on authoritative medical, academic and grassroots sources, the report argued that without basic toilets in place the MDGs will not be reached across large parts of the developing world and that the health, education and prosperity of some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people will be severely jeopardised.
Dem concluded: “With something as simple as a toilet we can accelerate progress across the MDGs. Sanitation means children’s lives saved, it means education for girls and it brings prosperity. The world can achieve these things but that means action on sanitation - now not tomorrow."
ENDS