Kampala — The First Lady, Janet Museveni, has called on African leaders to prioritise access to safe water and improve sanitation so as to reduce child mortality.

Addressing journalists on Monday, Mrs. Museveni observed that studies had indicated that diarrhoea was now the biggest killer of children under the age of five.

"One of the most important and cost-effective interventions in health is having access to safe sanitation and clean water," she said at Speke Resort, Munyonyo, the venue for the 15th African Union (AU) summit that closed on Tuesday.

Flanked by water and environment minister Maria Mutagamba and WaterAid official Yunia Musaazi, the First Lady called on leaders to tackle the challenges to protecting the lives of mothers and children.

Mrs. Museveni, who is also the Minister of State for Karamoja Affairs, and other first ladies took part in the meetings on the sidelines of the summit under the theme, "maternal, infant and child health and development".

"If our continent is to significantly improve the health of our children and mothers, we must address the issues of sanitation and water, and ensure that they are integrated into the health strategies of each and every government in Africa," she said. "Everyday, 2,000 African children die from diarrhoea, deaths that are preventable through access to hygiene, sanitation, education and clean water. Simply using a safe toilet can reduce diarrhoea by 40%, while a toilet together with safe water and hygiene can reduce the disease by 90%," Mrs. Museveni said.

Mutagamba stressed that the campaign against child mortality should address diarrhoea.

Musaazi warned that the millennium development goal (MDG) that focuses on halving the number of people without sanitation by 2015 may not be achieved in Africa if leaders do not act fast.

"The consequences of not meeting the MDG targets are deadly. Not only is diarrhoea the biggest killer of children under five in Africa, but access to water and sanitation significantly reduces other leading causes of child deaths such as under-nutrition and pneumonia," she said.

Prof. Edward Kairu, the chairperson of African Civil Society Network on Water and Sanitation, said it was crucial for the Government to work with civil society to enable millions of people access basic services.

"Governments must not forget their commitments and we must work with them to implement their promises," he said.