Unsafe drinking water and preventable deaths

WHO estimates that microbiologically contaminated drinking water causes about 505,000 diarrhoeal deaths each year—roughly one death every 62 seconds. WHO also estimated 1.4 million deaths attributable to the combined burden of unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene in 2019, but that includes more than water alone. The “every eight seconds” figure does not match the current estimate for drinking water specifically. The illustration is AI-generated.