Diarrhoea does not get a lot of attention these days compared to the recent pandemic, H1N1. Caused by unsafe water, inadequate sanitation and insufficient hygiene, diarrhoea has claimed millions of lives throughout the world, and young children are the vast majority of its victims. Water for Humans understands the link between dirty water and deadly water-borne diseases such as diarrhoea. That is why Water for Humans is working hard to address the poor water sanitation conditions in Oaxaca Valley, Mexico. As Water for Humans is demonstrating in Mexico, when you team up with NGOs, local community and state government leaders, water experts, and you bring innovative clean-water solutions to the people whose lives are endangered, this scourge can be eliminated! Now, a United Nations appointed council will bring this same sense of urgency to world leaders next month as they underscore the tragic toll that diarrhoea is taking worldwide.

Time for Coordinated Action

Coordinated action worked for H1N1: time for the same approach to diarrhoea

Press Release, Geneva 19 August 2010 – A week after the World Health Organization announced the welcome news that the H1N1 flu has ended its pandemic phase, the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) reminds the world’s decision-makers that deaths from diarrhoea remain extremely high. These deaths are closely linked to inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene practices, and are mainly among children under 5 years old in the world’s poorest countries.

WSSCC will take this reminder to two major global gatherings next month, an international meeting of leading water experts in Stockholm and the UN Summit of world leaders called for by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the High-Level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly.

Read entire WSSCC Press Release — issued on Aug. 19, warning world leaders that while H1N1 has killed 18,300 people so far, diarrhoea has killed 2 million people during the same period as the H1N1 pandemic.

Your Comments Invited — Are world leaders taking the issue of the worldwide water sanitation crisis seriously? Is diarrhoea largely being ignored because most of its victims live in wretched poverty and are voiceless when it comes to government responsiveness? Water for Humans wants to know your opinions about this life-endangering issue. Your comments are welcome!