Water crisis is hurting health
One in three people lack access to safe drinking supply
NEARLY a third of the world’s population does not have access to uncontaminated drinking water and more than half lacks adequate toilet facilities, which increases the risk of diseases, UN agencies said yesterday.
In a first report on the global sanitation problem, the World Health Organisation and the UN Children’s Fund acknowledged that billions of people had gained access to basic water and sanitation since 2000.
They pointed out, however, that these services often still do not provide clean water or hygienic disposal of human waste.
There are 2.1 billion people without safe and readily available water supplies and 4.5 billion without safely managed sanitation.
The problem is particularly acute in rural areas, the researchers found.
“Safe water, sanitation and hygiene at home should not be a privilege of only those who are rich or live in urban centres,” said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Poor sanitation helps spread diarrhoeal diseases such as cholera and dysentery, as well as hepatitis and typhoid.
Every year, more than 360 000 children below the age of 5 die of diarrhoea.
Sub-Saharan Africa has the greatest lack of safe drinking water: less than one in four people have access to clean water.
Around the world, 892 million people have to relieve themselves outdoors because they have no toilets. This problem is especially widespread in central and southern Asia, but there are also worrying trends elsewhere.
“Due to population growth, open defecation is increasing in sub-Saharan Africa and Oceania,” the report said.
Ghebreyesus said safe water, sanitation and hygiene at home were some of the most basic requirements for human health that countries have a responsibility to ensure.
Many homes, health-care facilities and schools also still lack soap and water for hand washing and this puts the health of people, especially young children, at risk from diseases such as diarrhoea.
“As a result, every year, 361 000 children under 5 years of age die due to diarrhoea. Poor sanitation and contaminated water are also linked to transmission of diseases such as hepatitis A and typhoid,” he added.
According to the report, of the 2.1 billion people who do not have safely managed water, 844 million do not have even a basic drinking water service.
These include 263 million people who have to spend over 30 minutes per trip collecting water from sources outside the home, and 159 million who still drink untreated water.