- waterborne diseases cause 433,000,000 sick days from school per year
- children who do not go to school, do not learn to read and write
- parents who stay home from work to care for their sick children, cannot go to work to earn a living
Approximately 80% of diseases in developing countries are caused by polluted drinking water and insufficient sanitation.
Children are among the most vulnerable: 1,800,000 children are killed each year.
Water, sanitation and hygiene are among the most powerful preventive medicines to reduce infectious disease.
The connection between sanitation, hygiene and health are, however, unknown in many regions of the world. Hygiene awareness campaigns can therefore have massive impact on public health.
Sanitation is not normally very high on the list of spending priorities for poor families. At the same time, income is lost because ill family members cannot go to work or because money has to be spent on medication.
The promotion of the long-term financial benefits of investing in sanitation empowers people to help themselves.
With improved knowledge people can make better informed choices about their future spending.
The GTO therefore believes passionately in the power of information in tackling the global sanitation crisis.