New Delhi, May 12 (IANS) In a bid to spread public awareness about water-borne diseases, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) launched a drive here on Tuesday.
Titled “Swachh Bharat Swasth Bharat”, the campaign has been launched in association with water purifier brand Kent RO.
Under the awareness drive, volunteers of the two organisations will visit rural areas of the country and make people aware about safe drinking water besides educating them about how this can help in preventing water-borne diseases.
“Though it is the primary duty of the states to provide clean and safe drinking water to the people, yet three lakh children in India die due to diarrhoeal disease every year before the age of three,” said K.K. Aggarwal, honorary secretary general of IMA.
These deaths could be very easily prevented by the elimination of unsafe drinking water, Aggarwal said.
According to the World Health Organisation, water-borne diseases account for around 4.1 percent of the total global diseases burden causing 1.8 million deaths annually. Of the total, 8.8 percent is attributed to unsafe water supply and bad sanitation and hygiene.
On this occasion the IMA announced it would adopt a model slum area in Delhi and the national captial region (NCR) where a community RO plant will be placed for six months to study its impact on the reduction of water-borne diseases.