Drive against childhood illness is jeopardised by failure to invest in sanitation, warns charity

Ending the worldwide water, sanitation, and hygiene crisis is one of the biggest development challenges of the 21st century, says the latest report by the charity WaterAid, which says that there are more people in the world today lacking adequate sanitation services than in 1990.

The charity estimates that the shortfall in water and sanitation services costs sub-Saharan African countries around 5% of their gross domestic product each year ($47.7bn (£30bn; €35bn) in 2009), which it says is “more than is provided in development aid to the entire continent” ($47.6bn in 2009).

It says that almost 900 million people worldwide …