 Water/sanitation gap wideningAn estimated 2.9 billion people lack access to adequate sanitation, up from 2.6 billion in 1990. But access to safe water is improving. Today, almost 800 million more people can count on safe water supplies than could in 1990. The number with access increased from 2.5 billion to 3.3 billion.Most governments and communities have placed a higher priority on safe
water, but that in itself is not a panacea for all ills. Without a stronger
commitment to sanitation, it will be difficult to reduce the incidence
of diarrhoea, a leading child killer, and other diseases that flourish
in unsanitary conditions. Among steps to combat disease and malnutrition,
the Convention on the Rights of the Child calls on countries to ensure
provision of clean drinking water and sanitation (article 24).
The table below shows the percentage of people with access to safe drinking water and sanitation in the 15 developing countries with the largest under-5 populations, along with the percentage point gap between the two. In Bangladesh, China, Egypt and India, the gap is greater than 40 percentage points, with Egypt having the widest—54 percentage points. Only in Nigeria is the gap reversed, with 58% of the population having access to sanitation and 51% with access to safe drinking water. A small gap is not necessarily a sign of success. Ethiopia, for example, has a small gap, but also the lowest combined access rate among these countries: 25% for safe water and 19% for sanitation. |
