http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=3601
A preliminary report by the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation shows that 62 percent of people in Africa do not have access to a proper toilet.
The report was released as part of World Water Day 2008 with the theme, ‘Sanitation Matters’.
World Water Day 2008 aims to raise the profile of http://www.wvwnews.net/story.php?id=2492 issues on the international agenda and to accelerate progress towards meeting the Millennium Development Goal target of reducing by half the proportion of people living without access to improved sanitation by 2015.It also aims to draw attention to the plight of some 2.6 billion people around the world who live without access to even a toilet at home and thus are vulnerable to a range of health risks.
“Nearly forty per cent of the world’s population lacks access to toilets, and the dignity and safety that they provide,” Ann M. Veneman, UNICEF Executive Director said.
She said that the absence of adequate sanitation has a serious impact on health and social development, especially for children.
“Investments in improving sanitation will accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development Goals and save lives,” she added.
The report said that contamination is a major cause of diarrhoea, the second biggest killer of children in developing countries, and leads to other major diseases such as cholera, schistosomiasis and trachoma.
Improved sanitation, simple achievable interventions reduce the risk of contracting diarrhoeal disease by a third, create physical environments that enhance safety, dignity and self-esteem and contribute to human health and well being, the report said.
It also helps particularly women and children, who otherwise risk sexual harassment and assault when defecating at night in secluded areas.
http://www.cisanewsafrica.org/story.asp?ID=2996