1,000 Indian children die of diarrhoea every day: report
|
| Posted
:
Tue, 18 Sep 2007 11:16:07 GMT |
| By
:
IANS |
| Category
:
Health |
| News Alerts by
Email ( click
here ) |
|
|
|
|
|
New Delhi, Sep 18 - One out of every five children who die of diarrhoea worldwide is an Indian.Minister for Rural Development Raghuvansh Prasad Singh Tuesday said that every day around 1,000 children die of diarrhoea in India, which means 41 children lose their lives every 60 minutes.'Globally, some 1.8 million children die each year as a result of diarrhoea, which means 4,900 deaths every day. In India, close to 1,000 children die every day,' Singh said.The minister was speaking at the second International Learning Exchange (ILE) programme on water, sanitation and hygiene here.Quoting a United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) report on the disease, he said: 'Deaths from diarrhoea in 2004 were some six times greater than the average annual deaths in armed conflicts globally.'Asked about the current outbreak of cholera in Orissa, in which over 150 people have lost their lives, the minister said: 'We had sent a central team to assess the situation and their report will be assessed thoroughly.'He, however, said that the Total Sanitation Campaign of his ministry has yielded desired results in the last three years.'Currently, 90 percent of our population has access to safe drinking water and 49 percent has access to toilets. We hope, India will achieve the Millennium Development Goal in the field of sanitation before 2015,' Singh said.'In 1981, only one percent of our population had access to toilets, and the percentage rose to 22 in 2001. Currently, 49 percent of our people are using toilets and it is certainly a move in the direction of better sanitation,' he added.The event organised by the government of India and Unicef aims at sharing India's achievement in this field with around 20 countries.Over 80 delegates from 20 countries, including Bangladesh, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Djibouti, Sudan, Yemen, Egypt, Ethiopia and Japan, will visit eight states over the next nine days to get a first hand experience of the development taking place in the country. (c) Indo-Asian News Service
|
|
|
|
|
|
Related News
US House passes major health reform - Summary
Washington - The US House of Representatives passed a landmark health reform bill aimed at cutting costs and extending coverage to Americans who lack insurance. The House vote late Saturday marked the biggest victory yet for President Barack Obama's ...
House passes major health reform - Update
Washington - The US House of Representatives late Saturday passed a landmark health reform bill aimed at cutting costs and extending coverage to Americans who lack insurance. The House vote marked the biggest victory yet for President Barack Obama's ...
Bulgaria closes schools to curb flu outbreak
Sofia - Bulgarian health authorities said Friday that they ordered schools to remain closed Monday in order to try to curb the spread of swine flu. As the number of the infected continued to rise quickly, the government also said hospitals were to de...
Drug tested only on mice saves Australian baby
Sydney - An Australian doctor who used a German experimental drug that had been tested only on mice to save a baby's life left Friday to brief US and European medical authorities about the amazing success. In a race against time, doctors at the Monas...
US health reform wins major endorsements from doctors, seniors
Washington - President Barack Obama's hopes of overhauling the US health care system were given a major boost Thursday as two advocacy groups representing doctors and seniors backed the reforms. The American Medical Association (AMA) and AARP both is...
Charity warns West may be backtracking on AIDS treatment - Summary
Johannesburg - A leading international medical charity on Thursday warned that Western governments were showing signs of backtracking on their commitment to increase access to life-saving treatment for AIDS patients. Dr Tido von Schoen-Angerer, a dir...
Death toll still rising in Ukraine's flu outbreak
Kiev - The death toll in Ukraine's flu outbreak continued to rise on Thursday. A total of 95 persons have died from flu-related symptoms since the disease struck Ukraine's western provinces late last month, said Zinovy Mytnik, vice health minister, i...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
