Two billion people drinking contaminated water
"Today, almost two billion people use a
source of drinking-water contaminated with faeces, putting them at risk of
contracting cholera, dysentery, typhoid and polio," Maria Neira, who
head's WHO's public health department, said in a statement.
Dramatic improvements are needed in ensuring
access to clean water and sanitation worldwide, the World Health Organization
said Thursday, warning that nearly two billion people currently use
faecal-contaminated water.
Hundreds of thousands of people die each year because they are forced to drink contaminated water, the WHO said, urging large investments to help provide universal access to safe drinking water.
Hundreds of thousands of people die each year because they are forced to drink contaminated water, the WHO said, urging large investments to help provide universal access to safe drinking water.
"Today, almost two billion people use a
source of drinking-water contaminated with faeces, putting them at risk of
contracting cholera, dysentery, typhoid and polio," Maria Neira, who
head's WHO's public health department, said in a statement.
"Contaminated drinking-water is estimated
to cause more than 500,000 diarrhoeal deaths each year and is a major factor in
several neglected tropical diseases, including intestinal worms,
schistosomiasis and trachoma," she added.
In 2015, the UN General Assembly adopted
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) -- a series of aspirational targets for
eradicating poverty and boosting human wellbeing, including vowing to ensure
universal access to safe and affordable water and sanitation by 2030.
But according to a fresh report Thursday,
published by WHO on behalf of UN-Water, countries will fall far short of this
goal if they do not radically increase their investments.
The report welcomed the fact that countries had
on average raised their annual budgets for water, sanitation and hygiene by 4.9
percent over the past three years.
But 80 percent of countries acknowledge that
their financing is still not enough to meet their nationally-set targets for
increasing access to safe water and sanitation, it found.
"In many developing countries, current
national coverage targets are based on achieving access to basic
infrastructure, which may not always provide continuously safe and reliable
services," WHO warned in a statement.
The World Bank has meanwhile estimated that investments in infrastructure will need to triple to $114 billion per year -- not including operating and maintenance costs -- in order to meet the SDG targets.
The World Bank has meanwhile estimated that investments in infrastructure will need to triple to $114 billion per year -- not including operating and maintenance costs -- in order to meet the SDG targets.
"This is a challenge we have the ability
to solve," said Guy Ryder, Chair of UN-Water and head of the International
Labour Organization.
"Increased investments in water and
sanitation can yield substantial benefits for human health and development,
generate employment and make sure that we leave no one behind," he added.
World
Health Organization, WHO
says, nearly two billion people currently use contaminated water. Head of WHO’s public health department,Maria Neira, said in
a statement that almost two billion people use a source of drinking-water
contaminated with faeces, putting them at risk of contracting cholera, dysentery, typhoid and
polio.
She said,
contaminated drinking water is estimated to cause more than 500,000 diarrhoeal
deaths each year and is a major factor in several neglected tropical diseases,
including intestinal worms, schistosomiasis and trachoma. In 2015, the UN
General Assembly adopted Sustainable
Development Goals
for eradicating poverty and boosting human wellbeing, including vowing to
ensure universal access to safe and affordable water and sanitation by 2030.
According to WHO, countries will fall far short of this goal if
they do not radically increase their investments.
HUNDREDS
of thousands of people die each year because they are forced to drink water
contaminated with faecal matter, the World Health Organisation said Thursday,
warning that dramatic improvements are needed in ensuring access to clean water
and sanitation worldwide.
“Today, almost two billion people use a source of drinking-water
contaminated with faeces, putting them at risk of contracting cholera,
dysentery, typhoid and polio,” Dr Maria Neira, who heads WHO’s Department of
Public Health, said in a statement.
“Contaminated drinking-water is estimated to cause more than
500,000 diarrhoeal deaths each year and is a major factor in several neglected
tropical diseases,” she added.
The report warns that countries will not meet global aspirations
of universal access to safe drinking-water and sanitation at the current rate
of investment, urging countries to use financial resources more efficiently and
increase efforts to identify new sources of funding.
According to the UN-Water
Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water (GLAAS) 2017 report, countries have
increased their budgets for water, sanitation and hygiene at an annual average
rate of 4.9 percent over the last three years.
Yet, 80 percent of countries report that water, sanitation and
hygiene (WASH) financing is still insufficient to meet nationally-defined
targets for WASH services.
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