[iNNER-EYE]

Proper sanitation and hygiene and safe drinking water can reduce undernutrition and stunting in children by preventing diarrhoeal and parasitic diseases, and damage to intestinal development (environmental enteropathy). According to the World Health Organization, roughly 50% of all malnutrition is associated with repeated diarrhoea or intestinal worm infections as a direct result of inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene. This does not capture the subclinical infections from environmental enteropathy, which current research is revealing as a significant factor for poor growth and undernutrition. When children are undernourished, their resistance to infection is lowered and they are more susceptible and more likely to die from diarrhoeal disease and other infections. In fact, diarrhoea is the second-leading cause of death globally in children under five years. Where children regularly suffer from diarrhoea, they are also very likely to be malnourished as a result. For infants, particularly those under six months of age, diarrhoea can cause permanent damage to intestinal development, reducing a child's ability to absorb nutrients.

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