Over 3000 Ghanaian children die annually from diarrhea

More than 3,000 children in Ghana die every year from diarrhea caused by a lack of safe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services, WaterAid Ghana said in a report.
Globally, 500,000 children die every year from diarrhea for lack of safe water, sanitation and hygiene. Of this figure, Africa is the most affected, losing 277,794 children each year.
Currently, 3.5 million out of the 25 million people in the West African country lack access to an improved water source, while 86 percent of the people do not have access to improved sanitation.
Poor sanitation contributed to death and disease worldwide, particularly among children under five, according to the report.
"Poor sanitation and hygiene conditions at the time of birth put mother and baby at risk of life threatening infection as children being weaned from breastfeeding are exposed to pathogens through contaminated food and water," it stated.
It also noted that diarrhea, even when it does not result in death, could have long-term impacts as approximately a quarter of stunting growth could be attributed to five or more diarrhea episodes before two years of age.
Although more than 1.8 billion people around the world have gained access to sanitation since 1990, the report said, "access to sanitation remains one of the most neglected issues in developing countries and international development aid."
Although sanitation is a basic human right, one child in three does not have good sanitation to stop debilitating and often fatal diarrhea.
The report said if governments took shared responsibility to reach every child with adequate sanitation by 2030, future generations would be healthier.
The report, titled Child of Mine - How Putting Toilets at the Center of the Sustainable Development Goals Can Transform the Health of Children Everywhere by 2030, seeks to urge UN member states to adopt Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that recognize the importance of sanitation in eliminating extreme poverty and improving health.