Wednesday, August 20, 2014

One Million Deaths caused by these 3 things we take for granted everyday.

Saw this link by way of Hans Rosling and this passage made me pause:

Burden of disease from inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene in low- and middle-income settings: a retrospective analysis of data from 145 countries

In 2012, 502 000 diarrhoea deaths were estimated to be caused by inadequate drinking water and 280 000 deaths by inadequate sanitation. The most likely estimate of disease burden from inadequate hand hygiene amounts to 297 000 deaths. In total, 842 000 diarrhoea deaths are estimated to be caused by this cluster of risk factors, which amounts to 1.5% of the total disease burden and 58% of diarrhoeal diseases. In children under 5 years old, 361 000 deaths could be prevented, representing 5.5% of deaths in that age group.
Those of us who live in developed countries do not give these things a second thought when we use them--except when they do not work on immediate demand.

Clean water, functioning indoor toilets and proper hand hygiene. Ordinary for us, extraordinary for many others.

Drink some water, flush your toilet and wash your hands---next time stop and celebrate it.  Pass it on! :)

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