Child mortality is an indicator commonly used when assessing child health and the
overall level of development in a country. It is a public health priority for the West African
nation of Senegal. In 2011, infant mortality rate for Senegal was 64.8 deaths per 1,000 children
under the age of five (WBI, 2011). Although lower than the average rate of 108.6 deaths per
1,000 children for Sub-Saharan Africa, it is almost nine times higher than the North American
average of 7.34 deaths per 1,000 children (WBI, 2011). Water and sanitation are also priority
intervention areas for the Senegalese government. The Millennium Water and Sanitation
Program (PEPAM) targeted specific objectives in the past for rural and urban areas to be reached
by 2015.1
According to UNICEF, poor hygiene, lack of access to safe drinking water, and
sanitation causing cholera and diarrheal diseases are responsible for the death of 1.5 billion
children each year (UNICEF, 2007). In Senegal, child mortality related to unimproved water and
sanitation is estimated at 15.13 % in rural areas only (African Development Bank Group, 2008).
Water and sanitation, as a result, have been described as “the most effective public health
intervention the international community has at its disposal” to reduce child mortality (Lancet
editorial, 2007).