DIARRHEA KILLS 160,000 CHILDREN ANNUALLY

Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, Oct. 14 (ANTARA) - Diarrhea kills around 160,000 children annually in the world, particularly due to their failure to wash their hands, a local official said.

In order to reduce the mortality rate due to diarrhea, 20 countries will observe Global Handwashing Day on October 15, 2008, Benny Latuperisa of the East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) provincial health office, said here on Tuesday.

In Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara Governor Frans Lebu Raya would lead the Handwashing with Soap Day at Naikotan I elementary school, to be attended by around 500 children from various primary schools in the city.

Handwashing with soap could prevent 44 percent of diarrhea diseases and 23 percent of respiratory infection, he said.

Children were the target of the handwashing with soap campaign because they were prone to diarrhea and could become an agent of change, he said.

The campaign also would target the media, policy makers, celebrities, religion leaders, academicians and the public in general, he said.

According to globalhandwashingday.org, the UN General Assembly has designated 2008 the International Year of Sanitation, and
the first-ever Global Handwashing Day to echo and reinforce its call for improved hygiene practices.

Handwashing with soap is among the most effective and inexpensive ways to prevent diarrheal diseases and pneumonia, which together are responsible for the majority of child deaths.

Every year, more than 3.5 million children do not live to celebrate their fifth birthday because of diarrhea and pneumonia.