Ghanaian children still vulnerable to water and sanitation related deaths: UNICEF

Ghanaian children are still vulnerable to cholera and diarrhea-related deaths, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

This was due to the fact that "less than two in every five Ghanaians is drinking safe water, and one in every six households does not have a basic water supply within a 30-minute round trip," said a press release issued here by the UNICEF Country Office on Wednesday.

It noted that although Ghana had achieved the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) for access to improved water supplies, this did not translate into potable water for all.

These challenges, it noted, were likely to contribute to the annual deaths of over 3,600 Ghanaian children each year from diarrhea.

"When water is transported and stored, it increases the risk to be fecally contaminated.

"This in turn increases the risk of diarrheal disease, which is a leading cause of chronic malnutrition or stunting and the fourth cause of death among children under five, with 300,000 deaths per year due to poor sanitation, poor hygiene or unsafe drinking water," said the release.

The UN's Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for water and sanitation (Goal 6) calls for universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water by 2030. Endit