Big picture
- -1.8 billion people gained access to adequate sanitation since 1990.
- -The number of people resorting to open defecation – the riskiest sanitation practice – has decreased by 271 million since 1990.
- -1.1 billion people, or 15 per cent of the global population, practice open defecation.
- -20 countries, mostly in South Asia and sub-SaharanAfrica, account for over 80 per cent of open defecation in the world.
- -2.5 billion people – roughly 37 per cent of the world’s population – still lack what many of us take for granted: access to adequate sanitation.
Human impact
- -Open defecation is one of the main causes of diarrhoea, which results in the deaths of more than 750,000 children under age 5 every year.
- -Each year, children lose 272 million school days due to diarrhoea.
- -Open defecation is one of the main causes of diarrhoea, which results in the deaths of more than 750,000 children under age 5 every year.
- -Each year, children lose 272 million school days due to diarrhoea.
- -Each day about 3,000 children under age 5 die as a result of diarrhoea, most before their second birthday.
Economic impact
- -Doing nothing is costly. Every US $1 spent on sanitation brings a $5.50 return by keeping people healthy and productive.
- -The global economic gains from investing in sanitation and water are estimated at $260 billion per year.
- -Poor sanitation, on the other hand, costs countries between 0.5 and 7.2 per cent of their GDP:
- $448 million/7.2 per cent of GDP inCambodia
- $53.8 billion/6.4 per cent of GDP inIndia
- $6.3 billion/2.3 per cent of GDP inIndonesia
- $17.5 million/2.0 per cent of GDP inLiberia
- $4.2 billion/6.3 per cent of GDP inPakistan
- $3 billion/1.3 per cent of GDP inNigeria
Sources: Big picture and Human impact: WHO/UNICEF. Economic impact: World Bank.