Diarrhea

Did you know that diarrhea is the 2nd leading killer of children worldwide, with a higher mortality rate than AIDS, measles, and malaria combined (according to a Unicef report)?

I found this shocking when I first learned this fact many months ago. It makes sense though if you really think about it. Unfortunately access to clean drinking water is not easy for many people around the globe. Developing nations and nations ravaged by war  and corruption may not have the will or means to build the necessary infrastructure for clean water.

Even in our own country you cannot necessarily trust the water from the tap to be free of pathogens. An article in the New York Times this weekend discussed the old and failing sewage systems of New York - which still uses some pipes built in 1849. The article went on to point out that many city sewage systems all over the country are consistently violating environmental laws and contaminating nearby vegetation, waterways, and even homes. This contamination is a serious health risk.

Despite the major implications for contamination here and around the world, funds are consistently diverted away from building, fixing, or renovating clean water systems. Clean water is something that we far too often take for granted, and it is something that could save many lives.

This picture is from a trip I took to Nicaragua in March 2009. The sewage from the homes in this community drain into holes in the street where adults and children walk and play. Our research found that diarrhea was a major illness in this community.