Every year, unsafe water, coupled with a lack of basic sanitation, kills at least 1.6 million children under the age of five years. That's more than eight times the number of all people who died in the 2004 Asian tsunami, and it's happening every year.

The health of human societies is very closely linked to the provision of safe drinking water and sanitation. In many developing countries, a large proportion of the disease burden is directly linked to water-borne pathogens and contaminants.

So, if we can protect our ecosystems that supply water, we all should enjoy better health, right? That's the topic of a lecture and discussion being held on Wednesday, Oct. 4 in the Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Learning and Discovery from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

It's the first United Nations University – International Network on Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) and McMaster University joint workshop focusing on water. It's free and open to the public.

Titled How Ecosystems Impact Human Health, keynote speaker, Professor Ulisses Confalonieri from the National School of Public Health in Brazil and former vice-president (Latin America) International Society of Doctors for the Environment, will look at the major consequences of ecosystem degradation for human health.

Workshop co-organizer and recently appointed director of UNU-INWEH, Dr. Zafar Adeel, says the UNU has an extensive network of institutions and individuals in developing countries.

“We're strategically increasing our emphasis on improving health in developing countries through safer and more reliable water provision, and there are obvious opportunities to collaborate with McMaster, particularly through its Collaborations for Health initiative.”

Allison Sekuler, associate vice-president of research, couldn't agree more.

“This is the kind of partnership we need encourage. McMaster contributes significantly to the research in this area, and when you couple that with the UNU's expertise and their access to the global research community, the result is a group with unique global strength. It's a great forum to bring people with an interest in water together to discuss the realities of the situation.”

Confalonieri's keynote address will be followed by an overview of McMaster's Collaborations for Health Initiative and then a panel discussion. The panel is comprised of Hans van Ginkel, director of the UNU; Ulisses Confalonieri; Susan Elliott, dean of social sciences; Mark Sproule-Jones, professor of political science; Zafar Adeel; and moderated by Allison Sekuler.