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Professor Andrea Schäfer of the University of Edinburgh claims that in many countries, one in five children die before their fifth birthday because of a lack of clean water, and many more, often girls, miss out on school because they have to walk for miles to fetch water or use a toilet.

According to Unicef, one billion people in the world do not have access to clean drinking water, and 40% of the world's population lack basic sanitation. Thousands of children die every day from diseases linked to dirty water and poor sanitation, such as diarrhoea, and many more are made ill by lack of clean water.

Professor Schäfer said: "Children suffer the most from lack of clean water. We can use modern engineering to tackle this problem and give children in developing countries a decent start in life. We have the appropriate technology and the resources to make clean drinking water and safe sanitation available to children everywhere. But engineers also need to make the technology sustainable, help build capacity and convince those in power to demonstrate the political will."

In a public lecture at the University of Edinburgh on 29 May, 'I have a Dream - Safe Drinking Water for All Children', to which children are invited, Professor Schäfer will take her audience on a journey from Scotland to Australia and Africa, examining the availability of clean water for children in each country.

A three day international workshop at the University from 28- 30 May will examine opportunities to enable water and sanitation around the world.

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu has given his support for the event. He said: "Clean water and good sanitation ensure a healthy community. They are the very basis of development and prosperity."

Delegates from developed and developing countries will examine the impact of climate change on water, potential use of renewable energy technology for supply and treatment of water, innovative treatment processes, novel ways of monitoring water quality, and political aspects of access to clean water.