Water still elusive in rural areas
3 in 10 people worldwide globally lack safe water at home. PHOTO| FILE NATION MEDIA GROUP
A Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) report, by WHO and UNICEF and released last month has concluded that too many people still lack access, particularly in rural areas.
“Safe water, sanitation and hygiene at home should not be a privilege of only those who are rich or live in urban centres,” says Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
As of 2015,
2.1 billion
people (3 in 10 people worldwide) globally lack safe water at home;
Of those…
263 million
spend more than 30 minutes per round trip collecting water.
159 million
drink water directly from surface sources, such as streams, rivers or lakes.
844 million
lack basic drinking water services,
4.5 billion
People (6 in 10) globally have no toilets at home that safely manage sanitation.
Of those people…
2.3 billion
Still do not have basic sanitation services
600 million
share a toilet or latrine with other households
829 million
defecate in the open.
As a result, every year, 361, 000 children under 5 years of age die due to diarrhoea.
Access to water and soap for hand washing varies immensely worldwide
Only 1 in 4
people in low-income countries have handwashing facilities with soap and water at home
14% Of People In Sub-saharan Africa have facilities
76% in Western Asia and Northern Africa have facilities
SOURCE: WHO&UNICEF Progress on Drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Update and SDG Baselines 2017.
