On World Toilet Day, ending open defecation is possible, says UNICEF
NEW YORK, 19 November 2012
— On World Toilet Day, UNICEF says that trends in the past five years
allow for cautious optimism that significant progress will be made in
decreasing the number
of people globally who practice open defecation.
A lack
of toilets remains one of the leading causes of illness and death among
children. UNICEF estimates that around 2 million children die each year
from pneumonia and diarrhoea, illnesses which
are largely preventable with improvements in water, sanitation and
hygiene.
Community
Approaches to Total Sanitation (CATS), now being supported by UNICEF in
50 countries around the world, including crucial ones in sub-Saharan
Africa and South Asia, have already led to
more than 39,000 communities, with a total population of over 24 million
people, being declared free of open defecation within the last five
years.
UNICEF
estimates that with support from governments and other partners, an
additional 88 million people now live in communities free of open
defecation.
“The
beauty of this approach is that solutions are not imposed from the
outside,” says Therese Dooley, UNICEF's senior advisor on sanitation,
“Communities themselves take the lead and identify
their own measures to end open defecation. Only then can it work.”
In
South Sudan, which in 2011 became the world’s newest country, already
five communities have achieved ‘open defecation free’ status, showing
that poverty is not an insurmountable barrier to
ending open defecation. The World Bank estimates the poverty rate in the
country at 50.9 per cent. While South Sudan does not yet have a ranking
on UNDP’s Human Development Index, all indications are that it will be
close to the bottom.
In
Pakistan, through UNICEF-supported CATS programmes, almost 5,000
villages with a total of 5.8 million people have been declared free of
open defecation. Rapid and notable improvements have
also been made in Mozambique, Zambia, Mali, Sierra Leone, Malawi and
Ethiopia.
CATS
aim to make all communities free of open defecation by focusing on
social and behaviour change and the use of affordable, appropriate
technologies.
The
emphasis is on the sustainable use of sanitation facilities rather than
the construction of infrastructure, and the approach depends on the
engagement of members of the community ranging from
individuals, to schools, to traditional leaders. Communities use their
own capacities to attain their objectives and take a central role in
planning and implementing improved sanitation.
According
to a joint UNICEF and World Health Organization report this year, more
than 1.1 billion people in the world practice open defecation. The
largest number of these people are in India
(626 million), followed by Indonesia (63 million), Pakistan (40
million), Ethiopia (38 million), and Nigeria (34 million).
“No aid
operation in the world can provide toilets for1.1 billion people,” says
Dooley. “They have to do it for themselves—with support. And we've
found, in fact, that it is only when they do
it for themselves that the changes are achievable and sustainable.”
About UNICEF
UNICEF works in 190 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments. For more information about UNICEF and its work visit: www.unicef.org For more information, please contact:
Rita Ann Wallace UNICEF New York Tel: +1 212-824-6586 (office) or +1 917-213-4034 (mobile) Email: rwallace@unicef.org,
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