Sweden Sanitation and hygiene dominates World Water Week 18/08/08 07:51 CET

World Water Week gets underway in Stockholm where 2,500 delegates are to discuss issues around water with a special focus on sanitation and hygiene.

Almost half of the world’s population lacks proper toilet facilities, a situation that can have profound consequences for public health.

Cecilia Martinsen from the World Water Institute in Stokholm said, “ Sanitation is one of the worst catastrophies we face and we are not talking about it; so the aim of World Water Week this year is to lift the issue of sanitation to make the world realise that this is an issue and that we need to act now if we want to reach minimum development goals.”

Children are among the most vulnerable to health problems caused by contaminated water.
According to UNICEF more than 5,000 children under five die of diarrhoea every day as a direct result of poor sanitation.