Global under-five mortality has fallen from 93 per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 72 per 1,000 in 2005 \u2013 a decline of 22.5% \u2013 but the pace of progress has been uneven across regions and countries. The decline has been slowest in sub-Saharan Africa.<\/p>\n
Malnutrition accounts for about a third of the disease burden in low- and middle income countries.
\nLack of access to adequate, safe food, partly related to water resources management, is one cause of malnutrition, but up to 50% of malnutrition is related to repeated diarrhea or intestinal nematode infections as a result of unclean water, inadequate sanitation or poor hygiene.<\/p>\n
Of the estimated 350-500 million clinical disease episodes occurring annually, around 60% are in sub-Saharan Africa, as are 80% of the deaths. Most of the more than 1 million Africans who die from malaria each year are children under age five.
\nHow much malaria could be eliminated by managing the environment \u2013 by eliminating stagnant water bodies, modifying reservoir contours, introducing drainage or improving irrigation management \u2013 differs across regions with variations in vector habitats, with a global average of 42%.<\/p>\n