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.