Despite Setbacks, Global Sanitation Makes Progress, Says Fund

An open drainage ditch in Ankorondrano-Andranomahery, Madagascar. Credit: Lova Rabary-Rakontondravony/IPSBy Thalif DeenUNITED NATIONS, Jun 2 2015 (IPS)When the United Nations hosted a panel discussion last year urging its partners to “break their silence” on open defecation, Singapore’s deputy permanent representative Mark Neo was outspoken in his characterisation: “Open defecation is a euphemism. What we are talking about is shitting in the open.”And over one billion people worldwide do so every day.“This is a crucial step towards achieving better health, reducing poverty and ensuring environmental sustainability for the most marginalized people in the world.” -- Chris WilliamsIn India alone, there are nearly 600 million people (out of a total population of over 1.2 billion) without access to sanitation, according to the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) based in Geneva.Currently, about 35 countries, mostly in Africa and Asia, fall into that category, including Niger, Sierra Leone, Mali, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Guinea, Liberia, Bangladesh, Madagascar, Nepal, Angola, Pakistan, Myanmar, Cambodia, Congo, India and Laos, among many others.A new study by the Geneva-based Global Sanitation Fund (GSF), released Tuesday, says 2.5 billion people, or 40 percent of the global population, lack access to decent sanitation, including more than a billion who defecate in the open.Still there is progress: nationally-led san...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: Global & Universal Authors: Tags: Aid Asia-Pacific Development & Aid Featured Global Headlines Health Human Rights Inequity IPS UN: Inside the Glasshouse Population Poverty & SDGs Water & Sanitation Women's Health Global Sanitation Fund (GSF) India open def Source Type: news