Water and Sanitation
What's Inside
According to the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Links to Health FACTS AND FIGURES *updated November 2004:
• 88% of diarrhoeal disease is attributed to unsafe water supply, inadequate sanitation and hygiene. Improved water supply reduces diarrhoea morbidity by between 6% to 25%, if severe outcomes are included.
• Improved sanitation reduces diarrhoea morbidity by 32%. Hygiene interventions including hygiene education and promotion of hand washing can lead to a reduction of diarrhoeal cases by up to 45%.
• Improvements in drinking-water quality through household water treatment, such as chlorination at point of use, can lead to a reduction of diarrhoea episodes by between 35% and 39%.
• 1.3 million people die of malaria each year, 90% of whom are children under 5. There are 396 million episodes of malaria every year, most of the disease burden is in Africa south of the Sahara.
• Intensified irrigation, dams and other water related projects contribute importantly to this disease burden. Better management of water resources reduces transmission of malaria and other vector-borne diseases.
• In 2002, 1.1 billion people lacked access to improved water sources, which represented 17% of the global population. Over half of the world’s population has access to improved water through household connections or yard tap.
• Of the 1.1 billion without improved water sources, nearly two third live in Asia. In sub-Saharan Africa, 42% of the population is still without improved water. In order to meet the water supply MDG target, an additional 260 000 people per day up to 2015 should gain access to improved water sources.
• Between 2002 and 2015, the world ís population is expected to increase every year by 74.8 million people.
• In 2002, 1.1 billion people lacked access to improved water sources, which represented 17% of the global population. Over half of the world’s population has access to improved water through household connections or yard tap. Of the 1.1 billion without improved water sources, nearly two third live in Asia. In sub-Saharan Africa, 42% of the population is still without improved water.
• In order to meet the water supply MDG target, an additional 260 000 people per day up to 2015 should gain access to improved water sources.
• Between 2002 and 2015, the world’s population is expected to increase every year by 74.8 million people.
• The development of water resources continues in an accelerated pace to meet the food, fibre and energy needs of a world population of 8 billion by 2025.
• Lack of capacity for health impact assessment transfers hidden costs to the health sector and increases the disease burden on local communities. Environmental management approaches for health need to be incorporated into strategies for integrated water resources management. |
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