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FACTS ABOUT WATER AND HEALTH 88% of diarrhoeal disease is attributed to unsafe water supply, inadequate sanitation and hygiene. 1.8 million people die every year from diarrhoeal diseases (including cholera); 90% are children under 5, mostly in developing countries. Hygiene interventions including hygiene education and promotion of hand washing can reduce diarrhoeal cases by up to 45%. 1.3 million people die of malaria each year, 90% of whom are children under 5. There are 396 million cases of malaria every year; most of the disease burden is in Africa south of the Sahara. Malaria costs Africa more than US$12 million annually and slows economic growth in African countries by 1.3% a year. Trachoma is strongly related to lack of face-washing, often due to absence of nearby sources of safe water. 500 million people are at risk from trachoma, 146 million are threatened by blindness and 6 million people are visually impaired from this disease. In Bangladesh, between 28 and 35 million people consume drinking water with elevated levels of arsenic. Over 26 million people in China suffer from dental fluorosis due to elevated fluoride in their drinking water. Source: UNESCO Water Portal, January 2005
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