Dying for a drink

doi:10.1136/bmj.39150.398009.BEimages

BMJ 2007;334:610-612 (24 March), doi:10.1136/bmj.39150.398009.BEimages

Feature

Dying for a drink

Kate Eshelby, journalist

kate@kateeshelby.com

The water and sewerage systems built throughout Europe in the1800s dramatically improved public health. But, as Kate Eshelbyreports, the developing world is still waiting for the politicalwill for a similar revolution

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

In the flat, arid plains surrounding the Nuba mountains, Sudan,a woman scoops drinking water from muddy puddles on the groundinto a jerry can, loads the can onto a camel, and returns toher village. Scenes like this are repeated throughout sub-SaharanAfrica and make it hard to understand why water and sanitationare not getting more global attention.

Diseases related to the lack of clean water are the second biggestkiller of children under 5 years, two million dying every yearfrom diarrhoea; 1.1 billion people do not have access to waterand 2.6 billion are without sanitation. The United Nations'2006 Human Development Report asserts that a global action planunder G8 leadership is desperately needed to resolve the growingcrisis, but water and sanitation—which earlier this yeartopped a BMJ poll of the most important medical advances (BMJ2007;334:111)—remain absent from this year's G8 agenda.¹. . . [Full text of this article]