Christian relief and development agency Tearfund has welcomed a new government-backed proposal announced last week that will tackle the "hidden emergency" of the world's growing water and sanitation crisis.

The UN Human Development Report released last Thursday calls on the G8 to address the global water and sanitation crisis by establishing a Global Plan of Action on water and sanitation - something Tearfund has lobbied for.

Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for International Development, gave his support for the report in a statement released the same day as the report in which he said "we must do more" to help the approximately 5,000 children dying every day because they have only dirty water to drink.

"We must act now to help the one billion people in developing countries who do not have safe water and the two and a half billion people who are without proper sanitation."

"There are too many international agencies working on water and sanitation, and not enough action; too many meetings and working groups and not enough pipes and taps. That's why I'm arguing for major reform of the international system to bring about change," said Mr Benn.

Paul Cook, Tearfund's Head of Policy commented, "The UN Human Development Report makes a significant contribution by drawing attention to this hidden emergency. One child dies every 14 seconds due to dehydration caused by diarrhoea.

"The means to prevent this scandal exist, yet to date the commitment and funding have been woefully inadequate."

The agency warned that without significant improvements in leadership and resources at the international level, millions of people in poor countries will continue to suffer the ill-effects of dirty water and poor sanitation.

Mr Cook added, "While welcome, today's announcement is just a vision on paper at this stage. It will stay that way unless the G8 realise the opportunity it presents. More money is critical but so too is strong leadership and momentum to ensure that the global water crisis does not fall from the political agenda. All eyes will be focussed on next year's G8 in Germany for an urgent display of leadership and action."

At present, one in five people across the world currently lack clean water and 40 per cent are without access to basic sanitation. Half the hospital beds in the world are currently filled with people suffering from water related diseases.

Tearfund also welcomed the report's emphasis on the particular challenges that governments and development agencies face in improving sanitation and the urgent need to help poor communities adapt to the impact climate change is already having on their access to clean water.

Mr Cook concluded: "One of the most devastating impacts of climate change is on water supply. In some parts of the world, floods, storms and poor rainfall are beginning to have catastrophic effects, threatening the lives and livelihoods of millions of people."