ABSTRACT
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 24% of the global disease burden and 23% of all deaths can be attributed to environmental risk factors. In children 0-4 years of age, these estimates rise to 36% and 37%, respectively. Many of the risk factors are related to water. For instance, 94% of diarrhoeal disease is attributable to unsafe water, poor sanitation and hygiene (Prüss-Üstin and Corvalán, 2006). The disease burden is highly skewed towards developing countries, most of which are located in the tropics.
