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Facts for Life
Author: UNICEF, WHO, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNDP, UNAIDS, WFP and the World Bank
Publication date: April 2010
Languages: English French Spanish
The fourth edition of Facts for Life contains essential information that
families and communities need to know to raise healthy children. This
handbook provides practical advice on pregnancy, childbirth, childhood
illnesses, child development and the care of children. This edition also
features a new chapter on child protection. The book is intended for
parents, families, health workers, teachers, youth groups, women’s groups,
community organizations, government officials, employers, trade unions,
media, and non-governmental and faith-based organizations.
14 October, 2009 -
New UNICEF/WHO Report Focuses Attention on Diarrheal Disease—the Second Leading Killer of Children Under 5—and Outlines 7-point Plan to Control This
Preventable and Treatable Illness
The report highlights the proven diarrheal disease prevention and treatment solutions already available today. Many children in the developing world
cannot access urgent medical care for severe illnesses, making prevention methods—including improved hygiene, sanitation, safe drinking water,
exclusive breastfeeding, and vaccines preventing rotavirus—critical components of diarrheal disease control. When diarrhea occurs, it can be
effectively treated with simple solutions, including oral rehydration therapy/oral rehydration solution, zinc and other micronutrients, and continued feeding.
Diarrhoeal Diseases Control
Examples of Health Education Materials
Audience:
WHO
1982
Multi-language examples from around the world
Posters 39 pages - pdf
12 mb
Flash cards 4 pages -
pdf
1.3mb
Leaflets 11 pages -
pdf
4 mb
Slide sets 4 pages -
pdf
696 kb
Newsletters and comics 2 pages - pdf
899
kb
Progress For Children: A Report Card on Water and Sanitation
Number 5, September 2006 - UNICEF
Unsafe water and the lack of basic sanitation and adequate hygiene contribute to
the leading killers of children under five, including diarrhoeal diseases,
pneumonia and undernutrition, and have implications for whether children,
especially girls, attend school. This means that achieving Millennium
Development Goal 7 and its 2015 targets of reducing by half the proportion of
people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation
are of vital relevance for children and for improving nutrition, education and
women's status. Progress for Children: A Report Card on Water and Sanitation
will report on whether the world is on course to reach MDG 7 - and where efforts
are falling short.
How to turn unsafe water into drinkable water
Step 1 If necessary: Remove particles
To remove contamination with solid particles pre-filter the unsafe water with a
piece of cloth or a coffee filter. This method does not remove micro-organism. You still have to disinfect with heat or chemicals.
Step 2a
If possible: Disinfection with heat
Sufficient heat will kill micro-organisms in contaminated water already at a temperature below the boiling point. During the time needed to reach boiling
point the water is heated long enough for disinfection. There is no need to boil water for 5 minutes, 10 minutes, or 20 minutes, as some guide books recommend!
Step 2b
If heat is impossible: Chemical Disinfection
A) With Iodine Iodine has advantages over chlorine in convenience and efficacy; and the taste
is less offensive. It is safe for short and intermediate length use (3-6 months), but questions remain about its safety in long-term usage. It should not
be used by persons with allergy to iodine, persons with active thyroid disease, or pregnant women. When the iodine is added to the water leave the preparation
for 30 minutes in clear weather or 60 minutes in cloudy weather.
B) With chlorine
Any common brand of liquid chlorine bleach contains 5-6 % sodium hypochlorite.
For 1 liter of unsafe water use 4 drops chlorine and wait 30 minutes. For 20 liters of water add 80 drops (1 tablespoon or 5 ml) chlorine. Measuring by drops
is more accurate and the preferred method. When the chlorine is added to the water leave the preparation for 30 minutes in clear weather or 60 minutes in
cloudy weather.
Water is essential for life. Yet many millions of people around the
world face water shortages. Many millions of children die every year from
water-borne diseases. And drought regularly afflicts some of the world’s
poorest countries. The world needs to respond much better. We need to
increase water efficiency, especially in agriculture. We need to free
women and girls from the daily chore of hauling water, often over great
distances. We must involve them in decision-making on water management. We
need to make sanitation a priority. This is where progress is lagging
most.
Kofi A. Annan, 22 March 2005
WHO | Water, Sanitation and Hygiene links to
Health: Facts and Figures
updated November 2004 29 kb
Diarrhoea
1.8 million people die every year from diarrhoeal diseases
(including cholera); 90% are children under 5, mostly in developing
countries.
88% of diarrhoeal disease is attributed to unsafe water supply,
inadequate sanitation and hygiene.
Improved water supply reduces diarrhoea morbidity by between 6% to
25%, if severe outcomes are included.
Improved sanitation reduces diarrhoea morbidity by 32%.
Hygiene interventions including hygiene education and promotion of
hand washing can lead to a reduction of diarrhoeal cases by up to 45%.
Improvements in drinking-water quality through household water
treatment, such as chlorination at point of use, can lead to a reduction
of diarrhoea episodes by between 35% and 39%.
more
WHO | Guidelines for drinking-water quality
WHO | Guidelines for drinking-water quality, third edition
5.34 mb
Drinking-water quality is an issue of concern for human health in
developing and developed countries world-wide. The risks arise from
infectious agents,
toxic chemicals and
radiological hazards. Experience highlights the value of
preventive management approaches spanning from water resource to
consumer.
WHO produces international norms on water quality and human health in the
form of guidelines that are used as the basis for regulation and standard
setting, in developing and developed countries world-wide.
You can link here to:
Guidelines for Drinking-Water Quality, 3rd (current) edition
Index of background documents on chemical hazards in drinking-water
Rolling revision of the WHO Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality
Guidelines for Drinking-Water Quality, 2nd & previous editions
Training material on drinking-water quality
Other guidelines that deal with:
Safe recreational (bathing) waters
Safe use of wastewater, excreta and grey water
Water,
Sanitation and Health
WHO works on aspects of water, sanitation and hygiene where the health
burden is high, where interventions could make a major difference and
where the present state of knowledge is poor:
::
Drinking-water quality ::
Bathing waters ::
Water resource quality ::
Water supply and sanitation monitoring ::
Water, sanitation and hygiene development ::
Wastewater use ::
Water-related disease ::Healthcare waste ::
Health in water resources development ::
Emerging issues in water and infectious disease
Health Topics: Diarrhoea Fact Sheets,
links to descriptions of activities, reports, news and
events and links to related web sites
and topics.
Water-related diseases
Diarrhoea occurs world-wide and causes 4% of all deaths and 5% of
health loss to disability.
Household water
The International Network to Promote Household Water Treatment and
Safe Storage
Drinking
Water Quality
Contaminated drinking water contributes to disease in developing
and developed countries worldwide.
The
International Network to Promote Household Water Treatment and
Safe Storage
Household water treatment and safe storage (HWTS) interventions
can lead to dramatic improvements in drinking water quality and
reductions in diarrhoeal disease
In adopting the Millennium Development Goals that address the most pressing development issues, countries pledged to halve the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation. Yet, more than 1 billion people today lack safe drinking water, and some 2.6 billion - half of the developing world - lack improved sanitation. This publication reports on our progress towards the MDG goal of ensuring environmental sustainability. It seeks to encourage countries slow to meet the target to accelerate action, and highlights areas where efforts need to be strengthened in order to meet the goal.
UN Water Report
Meeting the MDG Drinking Water and Sanitation Target
Water Facts: The Big Picture
A statistical view of the world's water - BBC
News
World's
water hot spots
From disappearing lakes and dwindling rivers to military threats over shared
resources, water is a cause for deep concern in many parts of the world.
Supplies are threatened by overuse, bad management and changing weather
patterns. The pressure will only increase as populations grow.
World Water Day 2005
United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization;
presentations of the WWD 2005
World Health Organization; an advocacy guide
Media Information
Press Releases/Statements and Media inquiries
UN Newscentre
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Facts for Life
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Video: "Water for Life" produced by
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