Sanitation and Hygiene[Français]
West and Central Africa has the lowest coverage of improved sanitation in the world. Less than 30% of the population of West Africa has access to improved sanitation. The water and sanitation position in West and Central Africa is of particular urgency, as the region has the highest under-five mortality rate of all developing regions: 186 child deaths per 1,000 live births. Evidence shows that poor hygiene, lack of access to sanitation and unsafe drinking water together contribute to about 88% of diarrhoea deaths, the second leading cause of under five deaths. Recurrent outbreaks of cholera in both urban and rural areas underline the poor state of this region’s basic living conditions. Achieving Millennium Development Goal 7, and its 2015 targets of reducing by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation, is of vital relevance for children and for improving nutrition, education and women's status. Yet, no country in the region is on track to meet the target by 2015. Progress towards the MDG sanitation target More than one people in four (29%) have no sanitation facility at all, forcing them to engage in open defecation – the riskiest sanitation practice. However, the use of unimproved and shared sanitation, respectively 26% and 20%, shows that people are choosing to move up the ‘sanitation ladder’. Resources on sanitation Why improved sanitation is important for children [PDF - 150 Kb] Facts and figures on sanitation in West and Central Africa Progress towards MDG 7 (Sanitation)
The sanitation ladder
Access to water and sanitation: a few definitions
Photo Essay A series of photo essays illustrating the state of sanitation in the region
[View photo essay] Resources Overview Related links |
•A child's view on sanitation
