On a recent trip to her native country, India, Clean the World’s Paramita Das shared the gift of soap.
Having traveled around the globe for a family wedding, Das took time to visit some of the communities in India where soap is considered a great commodity, but is often hard to come by for children and families.
According to UNICEF and the World Health Organization (2009), India tops the list of countries in the total number of annual child deaths from diarrheal diseases, such as
cholera and dysentery.These fatal diseases — the top two killers of children younger than 5 worldwide — may be prevented by as much as 60 percent through regular hand washing with bar soap. Here are the sobering figures from that study:
Top 10 Nations – Diarrheal Deaths (Source: WHO, UNICEF, 2009)
Country – Total Number of Annual Child Deaths
1. India – 386,600
2. Nigeria – 151,700
3. Democratic Republic of the Congo – 89,900
4. Afghanistan – 82,100
5. Ethiopia – 73,700
6. Pakistan – 53,300
7. Bangladesh – 50,800
8. China – 40,000
9. Uganda – 29,300
10. Kenya – 27,400
If you’d like to join our global hygiene revolution, please make an online donation to the Clean the World Foundation. Thanks for helping Clean the World. Soap saves lives.
