This explanation is now backed up by a strong consensus among public health researchers. Empirical data from the United States shows that water sanitation measures alone explain three quarters of the decline in infant mortality in major cities between 1900 and 1936, and nearly half the decline in total mortality.4 A recent study led by an international team of medical scientists found that, after sanitation, the greatest predictor of improved life expectancy is access to universal healthcare, including child vaccination.5 And once you have these basic interventions in place, the biggest single
...more
