RAFIU FISHBONE ON SANITATION






Of the world’s seven billion people, six billion have mobile phones.  Yet only 4.5 billion people have access to toilets or latrines — meaning that two and a half billion people, mostly in rural areas, do not have proper sanitation.

There are 1.1 billion people still defecating in the open.
In many countries, 95 per cent or more of the poorest fifth of the population practices open defecation.

Despite progress since 1990, the poorest 40 per cent have seen minimal change.
One out of every four people in the least developed countries practices open defecation.
 Ending open defecation is not just about building toilets and latrines.  Poor sanitation has a direct impact on health, nutrition, education, gender equality and poverty reduction.
 Ending open defecation will lead to a 35 per cent reduction in diarrhoea, which now results in over three quarters of a million deaths of children under five annually.

Having to go outside the safety of their homes in order to relieve themselves makes women and girls vulnerable to violence.  Girls are often reluctant to attend school, and parents are disinclined to send them, if there are no safe, private toilets for them to use.




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