WHO: 4.5 billion people worldwide deprived of proper sanitation

MANILA, Philippines — Some 4.5 billion people across the globe  still do not have access to “safely managed sanitation services” or toilets that are connected to a sewer or pit or septic tank that treats human waste, a report of the World Health Organization (WHO) has shown.

WHO said the world will not reach the goal of universal sanitation coverage – where every person in the world has access to toilets that safely contain excreta by 2030, unless countries make comprehensive policy shifts and invest more funds.

Of the 4.5 billion people without access to toilets, some 2.3 billion people lack basic sanitation, with almost half of them forced to defecate in the open.

“Without proper access, millions of people the world over are deprived of the dignity, safety and convenience of a decent toilet,” WHO deputy director-general for programmes Soumya Swaminathan noted.

“Sanitation is a fundamental foundation of human health and development and underpins the core mission of WHO and ministries of health worldwide,” she added.

WHO launched the “Global Guidelines on Sanitation and Health,” which Swaminathan described as “essential to security health and well-being for everyone, everywhere.”

The guidelines were developed  because current sanitation programs are not achieving anticipated health gains and there is a lack of authoritative health-based guidance on sanitation, according to the organization.

WHO director for department of public health, environmental and social determinants of health Maria Neira said the transmission of a host of diseases, including cholera, diarrhea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid and polio is linked to dirty water and inadequately treated sewage.

“Poor sanitation is also a major factor in the transmission of neglected tropical diseases such as intestinal worms, schistosomiasis and trachoma as well as contributing to malnutrition,” she said.