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A third of S Africans still lack access to safe, private toilets – report

19th November 2015

By: Natalie Greve

Creamer Media Contributing Editor Online

  

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As the globe marks World Toilet Day on November 19, recent analysis revealing that 33.6% of South African citizens lack access to safe, private toilets has prompted international charity WaterAid in Southern Africa to call on government to make further commitments to delivering universal access to sanitation.

This came despite access to sanitation in the country having improved by 15 percentage points since 1990, making it the seventh most improved of 38 countries with measurable data in sub-Saharan Africa.

WaterAid’s inaugural ‘It’s No Joke – State of the World’s Toilets’ report highlighted the plight of more than 2.3-billion people worldwide that did not have access to a safe, private toilet. Of these, nearly one-billion had no choice but to defecate in the open – in fields, at roadsides or in bushes.

“The result is a polluted environment in which diseases spread fast. An estimated 314 000 children under five die each year of diarrhoeal illness which could be prevented with safe water, good sanitation and good hygiene.

“Many more have their physical and cognitive development stunted through repeated bouts of diarrhoea, blighting their life chances,” WaterAid maintained.

The report found South Sudan – the world’s youngest country – to have the worst household access to sanitation in the world, followed closely by Niger, Togo and Madagascar.

Some 42.5% of citizens in Swaziland, meanwhile, lacked access to safe, private toilets. However, since 1990, access had improved by nine percentage points, making it the eighteenth most improved out of 38 countries with measurable data in sub-Saharan Africa.

Elsewhere in the region, 67.9% of Lesotho citizens lacked access to safe, private toilets, while Angola had seen the most improvement since 1990, followed closely by Rwanda and Ethiopia.

Further north, Nigeria had seen a “dramatic” slide in the number of people with access to toilets since 1990.

Among the report’s other findings, India, the world’s second-most populous country, held the record for the most people waiting for sanitation (774-million) and the most people per square kilometre (173) practising open defecation.

The tiny South Pacific island of Tokelau had made the most progress on delivering sanitation since 1990, while Nepal, despite the “immense” challenges posed by its mountainous landscape, came in the top four in this category.

“Just two months ago, we saw all the member States of the United Nations (UN) promise to deliver access to safe, private toilets to everyone everywhere by 2030.

“Our analysis shows just how many nations in the world are failing to give sanitation the political prioritisation and financing required. We also know that swift progress is possible, from the impressive advances in sanitation achieved in nations like Nepal and Vietnam.

“No matter where you are in the world, everyone has a right to a safe, private place to relieve themselves, and to live healthy and productive lives without the threat of illness from poor sanitation and hygiene. On this World Toilet Day, it’s time for the world to make good on the promises and understand that while we all love toilet humour, the state of the world’s sanitation is no joke,” commented WaterAid South Africa region head Robert Kampala.

WorldAid was, specifically, calling for world leaders to fund, implement and account for progress towards the new UN Global Goals on sustainable development, ensuring water, sanitation and hygiene for all.

It further called for the improvement in the state of the world’s toilets, with political prioritisation and long-term increases in financing for water, sanitation and hygiene, by both national governments and donor countries, such as the UK.

It appealed for aid to be directed to where it was most needed, noting that many of the world’s poorest countries in need of aid for sanitation and hygiene were receiving the least amount of financial support as a result of them not meeting donors’ strategic priorities.

Edited by Chanel de Bruyn
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

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