According to Save the Children and World Food Programme a set of 45p oral rehydration sachets would effectively prevent anyone dying from most of the diseases in Africa associated with dirty water.

Diseases that were cured in Europe in Victorian times.

Nealry 4,000 cholera deaths in Zimbabwe could have been prevented for about £3,000 worth of sachets. That would fit in a small packing case.

Ivan Lewis wrote to the newspapers last week detailing the costs associated with combatting AIDS - that the UK should rightly be proud of as one of the key donors.

DFID has 2 budgets each of of £1.2Bn

But is the issue not the cost: the costs seem tiny. Not the will: we are one of the lead agency donors.

But delivery to the front-line where it's needed?

Is it impossible to provide 3 sets of emergency sachets per person to all the hospitals in Africa?

45p a sachet. And a set of sachets little bigger than sugar sachets that sit next to your teacup.

o Around 30,000 children have died today from preventable diseases, dirty water and poor sanitation
o 1.1 billion lack access to clean water
o 2.6 billion lack access to basic sanitation
o In Africa, an estimated 5% of GDP is lost to illnesses and deaths caused by dirty water and the absence of sanitation
o Over 300 million people in Africa drink dirty water daily

30,000 preventable death seach day: for lack of £15,000 worth of oral hydration sachets each day.

Less than £5M per year.