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04 BMJ2007_MedicalMilestones.pdf

Readers of the British Medical Journal voted sanitation as the most important medical milestone of the past  century and a half.

Mortality decline (pdf)
Water supply and childhood mortality (pdf)
150 years of declining death rate (in Dutch, pdf)

Without mortality declining after 1860, the Netherlands would not have its 15.6 mln inhabitants but only 3.1 mln.

'Most peaple are not aware that they live by the simple fact of having one of his ancestors starting to wash his hands frequently' (Preston 1996).

Water and sanitation related diseases fact sheets
Water, sanitation and hygiene links to health
Evaluation of the costs and benefits of water and sanitation improvements at the global level
Health in the Millennium Development Goals