Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Agenzia Fides) - “In some of the poorest countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean there are no toilets private or public” said the London based NGO End Water Poverty, after a survey and the world campaign ‘Water and Sanitation for everyone'.
The United States Fund for Infancy (UNICEF) estimates that in the past 14 years sanitation has been guaranteed for another 1,000 people, but 2.600 million including 980 million children are still without it.
“Children are the most vulnerable to diseases caused by lack of adequate sanitation”, says UNICEF executive director, Ann Veneman. “Every year about 1.5 million children under five die because of inadequate sanitation, bad hygene and contaminated water” he added.
A child in Sub-Saharan Africa is 520 times more likely to die of the intestinal diseases than a child born in Europe of the United States.
During a Conference recently held in Sweden on the occasion of World Water Week, Anders Berntell, executive of the International Water Institute in Stockholm, said that in 38 of the 46 African considered, children under 5 die of diarrhoea and AIDS. On that occasion a call was made for more investment in sanitary infrastructures such as toilets in homes and schools.
In a paper titled A Decade of Water for Life 2005-2015, the United Nations Organisation, which in November will launch "World Year of Sanitary Services”, gives discouraging facts and figures. “ Lack of clean water and adequate sanitation is the principal cause of illness in the world. In contributes in fact to illnesses such as diarrhoea, cholera, dysentery, typhoid, hepatitis, polio, trachoma and tapeworm, many of which can be fatal in developing countries”, the report says. Malaria and filariasis are also associated with lack of clean water.
Over 40% of the world population, 2 out of 5 people, live without toilets and adequate sanitation with the consequent loss of life caused by the diffusion of illnesses.
“Access to sanitation is a fundamental issue for human dignity and human rights, as well as economic development and environment protection”, said Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon. (AP) (7/9/2007 Agenzia Fides; Righe:34; Parole:407)
