Key Facts on Sanitation
Sanitation- 2.3 billion people still do not have access to basic sanitation facilities such as toilets or latrines.
- Of these, 892 million defecate in the open, i.e. in street gutters, behind bushes or into open bodies of water.
- At least 10% of the World’s population is thought to consume food irrigated by wastewater.
- Safe water, improved sanitation and hygiene could prevent the deaths of 361,000 children aged under 5 every year.
Sanitation in Africa
- Africa is one of the two major regions with the least improvement in achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6 on water and hygiene.
- 75% of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa live without access to adequate sanitation.
- More than 327 million people do not have access to safe water.
- Improved sanitation also means improved public health, livelihoods and dignity from households to entire communities.
