Pictures: UK landmarks shown amidst filthy conditions to highlight the misery of slums

 
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Robin de Peyer20 December 2013

Some of London’s most iconic landmarks are being shown surrounded by filth as part of a campaign to highlight the one billion people worldwide living in slums.

The shocking images show sites including Buckingham Palace and Parliament Square drowning in a sea of rubbish and squalor.

They were commissioned by UK development charity Practical Action for an appeal to help those living in slums in poverty-stricken countries such as Bangladesh and Nepal.

Parliament: the square at Westminster is submerged in rubbish

Simon Trace, who is the charity’s CEO, said: “Urban poverty is a global problem which needs to be addressed immediately. Every day people are dying because they are forced to drink water contaminated with human waste and live in housing which will collapse when earthquakes, high winds or flood waters come.”

Practical Action say the pictures show what conditions could be like if cities in the UK expanded at the same rate as many of the poorest in the third world.

The charity’s Safer Cities campaign has now won the backing of the government, which has pledged to match pound for pound donations it receives.

Edinburgh castle: filthy conditions in the Scottish capital

International development secretary Justine Greening said the money would go towards safer drinking water and sanitation.

“As well as day-to-day health benefits, this will reduce the spread of potentially deadly water-borne diseases that follow regular seasonal flooding,” she said.

“Better hygiene isn’t just vital to save lives, it means people can focus on earning money and taking care of their families."

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