New York, 20 March 2023 (dpa/MIA) — Polluted drinking water and an absence of sanitary infrastructure are endangering the lives of children around the world, according to the UN children's agency UNICEF.

Every day, more than 1,000 children under the age of 5 die worldwide from diseases caused by polluted water, lack of sanitation and poor hygiene, UNICEF reported in New York on Monday.

A total of 190 million children in 10 African countries are at risk, according to a new analysis by the organization.

The situation is most serious in the West and Central African countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Somalia, it said.

Many of these countries suffer from instability and armed conflict, which further complicates children's access to clean water and sanitation.

Wednesday is World Water Day. It is also the day the UN Water Conference kicks off in New York. The aim is to review the extent to which internationally agreed goals, including the UN Sustainable Development Goal on access to clean water for all by 2030, can be achieved.

According to the UN, 2 billion people worldwide — one in four — cannot count on having clean water.