The Hills Are Alive With the Sound of Death in New UNICEF Sweden Film

The water issue is the focus of UNICEF Sweden’s new campaign launched today. Through the film "The Sound of Death", UNICEF would like to tell you how dirty water, lack of toilets and poor hygiene leads to 1,000 children dying every day and while pointing to what can be done.

UNICEF Sweden is taking new approaches to engage. Together with the award winning advertising agency Forsman & Bodenfors, UNICEF Sweden has produced a film entitled "The Sound of Death”. In the video, inspired by the musical “Sound of Music” and Ingmar Bergman’s “The Seventh Seal”, Death dances on hilltops singing cheerfully about all the waterborne diseases found in contaminated water. Diseases that ravage children who are often the most vulnerable. The end invites viewers to help save children's lives.

"Every day 1,000 children die because of dirty water and poor sanitation. It's something we must change. We at UNICEF are constantly struggling against death. With our campaign, we want to get people to respond and show that it is actually possible to do something," says Andreas Eriksson, UNICEF Sweden's communications manager.

Those who want to help ensure that children have access to clean water can entre at unicef.se, but also help through one of UNICEF Sweden’s local partners, retailers where customers are encouraged to put on 10 Swedish kroner in connection with the purchase. For 10 kroners (1,1 USD) UNICEF can clean over 1000 liters of water using special water purification tablets.

A single water purification tablet can purify five gallons of water in just half an hour. These tablets purify deadly, polluted water and make it safe enough for a child to drink. The tablets are crucial in disasters and emergencies. But UNICEF also works long term to provide clean drinking water by collaborating with governments and helping countries with their water systems: by drilling wells, building toilets and awareness raising, and training on good hygiene practices.