{"id":29797,"date":"2017-07-12T21:35:51","date_gmt":"2017-07-12T21:35:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/?p=29797"},"modified":"2018-04-22T11:51:23","modified_gmt":"2018-04-22T15:51:23","slug":"billions-around-the-world-lack-safe-water-proper-sanitation-facilities-reveals-un-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/blog\/2017\/07\/billions-around-the-world-lack-safe-water-proper-sanitation-facilities-reveals-un-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Billions around the world lack safe water, proper sanitation facilities, reveals ±¬ÁÏÍø report"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some three in ten people around the world lack access to safe and readily available water at home, and almost six in ten to safely managed sanitation, a new United Nations report has warned, calling on countries to do more to fulfil these basic human needs.<\/p>\n

According to the World Health Organization (WHO<\/a>) and the ±¬ÁÏÍø Children’s Fund (±¬ÁÏÍøICEF<\/a>) joint report,\u00a0Progress on Drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene: 2017 Update and Sustainable Development Goal Baselines<\/a>, many homes, healthcare facilities and schools also lack soap and water for handwashing, putting the health of all people \u2013 but especially young children \u2013 at risk for deadly diseases.<\/p>\n

\u201cSafe water, sanitation and hygiene at home should not be a privilege<\/a>\u00a0of only those who are rich or live in urban centres,\u201d Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO Director-General, said in a news release, announcing the findings and noting that those living in rural areas are the worst affected.<\/p>\n

As a result of lack of these basic services, millions fall ill to diseases \u2013 that could, otherwise, have been easily prevented \u2013 such as diarrhoea which claims the lives of 361,000 children under the age of five die, every year, noted the ±¬ÁÏÍø agencies.<\/p>\n

\u201cSafe water, effective sanitation and hygiene are critical to the health of every child and every community \u2013 and thus are essential to building stronger, healthier, and more equitable societies,\u201d underscored Anthony Lake, the Executive Director of ±¬ÁÏÍøICEF.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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