19 novembre. Water day toilet

  About 1 in 10 people in the world do not have access to safe drinking   water.

Almost 2 in 5 people in the world do not have access to a private, clean toilet.

Despite the progress of the last few years, a staggering 2.5 billion people still live without a safe toilet and 783 million people still lack access to clean water. The lack of such essential services creates a massive crisis for developing countries – undermining health systems, education, economic development, and gender equality progress.

A study of 60 developing countries found that only 46% of primary schools had adequate water sources and just 37% had adequate sanitation facilities¹.

Almost 2,000 children die every day from preventable water-related diseases, making it the second largest killer of children in the world². The crisis also impacts on developing country economies – in Africa, an estimated 5% of GDP is lost to illnesses and deaths caused by dirty water and poor sanitation³.

But this crisis can be solved!

The water and sanitation crisis is primarily caused by a lack of political will. Overcoming the crisis requires national and local governments to stick to their word and to implement the commitments they have made on sanitation and water. Keep Your Promises!

¹ UNICEF, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Annual Report, 2008
² CHERG, 2012
³ UNDP, Human Development Report, 2006