2,000 Cambodian children die of diarrhea per year: UNICEF

PHNOM PENH (Xinhua) - The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) office in Cambodia said Sunday that a new figure showed that about 2,000 Cambodian children die every year of diarrheal diseases due to lack of safe water, sanitation and basic hygiene.

"In Cambodia, perhaps 2,000 die of diarrhea each year. However, one of the simplest and most inexpensive barriers to infection is handwashing with soap," the UNICEF said in a statement ahead of the the Global Handwashing Day to be celebrated in Cambodia on Monday.

It said that UNICEF, along with other partners and the Cambodian government, would launch a campaign in order to get the nation into the habit of handwashing with soap.

"The simple act of handwashing with soap is one of the most effective ways to save children's lives," said Sanjay Wijesekera, global head of UNICEF's Water, Sanitation and Hygiene programs. "Washing hands before eating and after defecation drastically reduces the spread of diarrheal disease and has far reaching effects on the health and welfare of children and communities."

According to UNICEF, diarrhea remains the second largest cause of under-five mortality globally with 600,000 children dying each year.