A report released by WHO and UNICEF suggest the lack of progress in sanitation is overshadowing health benefits associated with progress in access to safe drinking water.
The Joint Monitoring Program report, Progress on Sanitation and Drinking Water: 2015 Update and MDG Assessment, reports that one in three people (2.4 billion) still do not have access to appropriate sanitation facilities, and about 946 million people defecate in the open.
"What the data really show is the need to focus on inequalities as the only way to achieve sustainable progress," said Sanjay Wijesekera, head of UNICEF's global water, sanitation and hygiene programs. "The global model so far has been that the wealthiest move ahead first, and only when they have access do the poorest start catching up. If we are to reach universal access to sanitation by 2030, we need to ensure the poorest start making progress right away."
It has been estimated 2.6 billion people having gained access since 1990 and 91 per cent of the global population now have improved drinking water. Additionally, fewer than 1,000 children under five die each day from diarrhea caused by improper water, sanitation and hygiene, which is an improvement to the 2,000 15 years ago. Despite these gains, health organizations believe they are being hampered by inadequate investments in the sanitation department. About 2.1 billion people have gained access to improved sanitation since 1990, but the organizations note the world has missed its MDG (millennium development goal) by 700 million people. Only about 68 percent of people have access to proper sanitation facilities, compared to the goal of 77 percent.
"Until everyone has access to adequate sanitation facilities, the quality of water supplies will be undermined and too many people will continue to die from waterborne and water-related diseases," said Dr Maria Neira, Director of the WHO Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health.
