Access to water, sanitation, hygiene may save millions of lives – WHO

Geneva, Jun 28 (Prensa Latina) Improving access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) could prevent at least 1.4 million deaths per year and 74 million disability-adjusted life years in 2019, especially in the African and Southeast Asia regions, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported Wednesday.

June 28, 2023
17:20

Such estimates are based on four attributable burdens: diarrhea, acute respiratory infections, malnutrition, and soil-transmitted helminthiasis.

Diarrhoeal disease accounted for most of the attributable burden, with over one million deaths and 55 million DALYs. The second largest contributor was acute respiratory infections from inadequate hand hygiene, which was linked to 356 000 deaths and 17 million DALYs.

Among children under five, unsafe WASH was responsible for 395 000 deaths and 37 million DALYs, representing 7.6% of all deaths and 7.5% of all DALYs in this age group. This included 273 000 deaths from diarrhoea and 112 000 deaths from acute respiratory infections.

These diseases are the top two infectious causes of death for children under five globally.

Over three-quarters of all WASH-attributable deaths occurred in the WHO African and South-East Asia regions, while 89% of attributable deaths were from low- and lower-middle income countries.

To reduce the WASH-attributable burden of disease, WHO urges governments to take actions with support from UN agencies, multilateral partners, the private sector and civil society organizations.

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