ASIA/BANGLADESH - Number of children dying from contaminated water is on the rise

Dacca (Agenzia Fides) – The missionaries and humanitarian aid organizations stationed in Bangladesh have released an alert saying that over 110,000 children under the age of 5 die each year from diseases related to contaminated water sources, as a result of polluted rivers and a lack of hygienic services. The condition of the children is serious and the mortality rate among children is on the rise. According to UNICEF, the accelerated urbanization of the world and population growth are affecting the plans contained in the Millenium Goals, such as reducing the number of people without access to potable water and health services by 50%, by 2015.
According to the WHO, the World Health Organization, and UNICEF, the efforts to improve water access have been in vain due to population growth and massive and unforeseen migration towards urban areas. WHO and UNICEF say that there about 2.6 billion people in the world without access to water and hygiene, and 1.6 million children under the age of 5 who die each year from the lack of basic hygiene and illnesses that in the West are easily treated.
In Bangladesh, there are also climatic changes that play an important role in the life of local communities in the coastal areas, where there is a gradual decline in fertile soil due to the rise of sea levels, the saltification of the land and coastal erosion, as well as from the frequent and powerful typhoons.
The recent loan awarded by the World Bank is being used to address this emergency situation. Bangladesh has been given 109 million dollars in order to reconstruct roads, schools, buildings, dikes, and infrastructures damaged by Cyclone Sidr that hit the area last year. The Cyclone caused damages to properties, livestock, and crops, a total of 1.7 billion dollars' worth. The Cyclone affected thirty of the country's districts and nearly 9 million habitants, left 55,000 wounded, and caused the death of 3,000. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 11/11/2008)