Lifewater International aims to provide the most reliable and up-to-date statistics on water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). Please contact us if you have questions or suggestions regarding this data.

 Water | Sanitation  | Hygiene

WATER

1. One in eight people worldwide lack safe water.
   World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation. Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation: Special Focus on Sanitation (New York: UNICEF; Geneva: WHO, 2008) 2.
2. Diarrhoea kills more young children than AIDS, malaria, and measles combined.
   UNICEF and World Health Organization. Diarrhoea: Why children are still dying and what can be done. (New York: UNICEF; Geneva: WHO), 2009.
3. Every day, four thousand children die of water-related diseases.
   World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation. Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation: Special Focus on Sanitation (New York: UNICEF; Geneva: WHO), 2.
4. Nearly one in five child deaths – about 1.5 million each year – is due to diarrhoea.
   UNICEF and World Health Organization. Diarrhoea: Why children are still dying and what can be done. (New York: UNICEF; Geneva: WHO), 2009.
5. No other single intervention is more likely to have a significant impact on global poverty than the provision of safe water.
   Schuster-Wallace. C.J., Grover, V.I., Adeel, Z. Confalonieri, U. and Elliot, S. Safe Water as the Key to Global Health. (United Nations University, 2008).
6. 84% of the world population without an improved drinking-water source lives in rural areas.
   World Health Organization and UNICEF Fund Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation. Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation 2010 Update. (New York: UNICEF; Geneva: WHO), 18.
7. Water weighs 8.35 pounds per gallon, and many adults carry up to five gallons of water per trip. That means that they carry over forty pounds of water for miles every day. (And that does not include the weight of the babies that many women also carry!)
   General information
8. Sustainable water sources help lay the foundation for the infrastructure and planning that limits the devastation of natural disasters.
   Stockholm International Water Institute, Making Water a Part of Economic Development: The Benefits of Improved Water Management Services, 2005.
9. A stable water supply generates electricity, irrigates croplands, and transports goods. Furthermore, water is vital for economies depending heavily on tourism and recreational activities.
   CL Obi, B. Onabolu, M.N.B. Momba, J.O. Igumbor, J. Ramalivahna, P.O. Bessong, E.J. van Rensburg, M. Lukoto, E. Green, and T.B. Mulaudzi. The Interesting Cross-Paths of HIV/AIDS and Water in Southern Africa with Special Reference to South Africa (South African Water Research Commission, July 2006) Vol. 32 No. 3.
10. The weight of the water women carry also exposes them to a greater risk of malnutrition, back problems, and anemia.
    Fisher, Julie. “For Her it’s the Big Issue: Putting Women at the Centre of Water Supply, Sanitation, and Hygiene.” Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Evidence Report. Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council, Geneva, March 2006.
11. Approximately 443 million school days each year are missed due to water-related illnesses.
    United Nations Development Program (UNDP): Beyond Scarcity: Power, Poverty and the Global Water Crisis, Human Development Report (2006).
12. International water basins that include political boundaries of two or more countries cover more than 45 percent of the world’s surface, host 40 percent of the world’s population, and account for 60 percent of river flow.
    The NATO/CCMS (Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society) Pilot. Environment and Security in the International Context. January 1996.
13. A study by the World Health Organization and UNICEF shows that almost 20 percent of the population in sub-Saharan Africa relies on a water source that is more than thirty minutes away.
    World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation. Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation: Special Focus on Sanitation (New York: UNICEF; Geneva: WHO, 2008) 37.
14. Roughly one billion people, 15 percent of the world’s population, lack access to safe water; more than half of these individuals are women and girls.
    WHO AND UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation. Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation: Special Focus on Sanitation.
15. It is estimated that women in low-income countries spend 40 billion hours annually fetching and carrying water from sources far from home and that may not provide clean water. WHO AND UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation. Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation: Special Focus on Sanitation. UNICEF, New York and WHO, Geneva, 2008.
16. 884 million people in the world still do not get their drinking-water from improved sources, almost all of them in developing regions. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for over 37 percent.
    World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation. Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation: 2010 Update. (New York: UNICEF; Geneva: WHO), 7.
17. Ninety percent of all usable water in the Middle East and Northern Africa crosses at least one international boundary.
    A. Carius, G. Dabelko, A. Wolf. Water Conflict and Cooperation. United Nations Policy Briefing, 2005.
18. As a result of WASH improvements and others that address basic needs, childhood deaths are declining steadily worldwide. In 2007, more than 12.6 million children under five died from largely preventable or treatable causes; the number is around 9 million today, despite population growth.
    United Nations. The Millenium Development Goals Report (New York: United Nations, 2009) 4.
19. HIV/AIDS patients have compromised immune systems and therefore are more prone to common illnesses and diseases, especially diarrhea, which is often caused by unsafe water.
    CL Obi, B. Onabolu, M.N.B. Momba, J.O. Igumbor, J. Ramalivahna, P.O. Bessong, E.J. van Rensburg, M. Lukoto, E. Green, and T.B. Mulaudzi. The Interesting Cross-Paths of HIV/AIDS and Water in Southern Africa with Special Reference to South Africa (South African Water Research Commission, July 2006) Vol. 32 No. 3.
20. In 2007, 33 million people in the world were living with HIV, 2.7 million people were newly infected, and 2 million had died due to HIV/AIDS.
    Joint United Nations Programme: HIV/AIDS Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic (2008).
21. At the current rate of progress, the world is expected to exceed the Millenium Development Goals target of halving the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water (with the exception of Sub-Saharan Africa). Even so, 672 million people will still lack access to improved drinking water sources in 2015.
    World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation. Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation: 2010 Update. (New York: UNICEF; Geneva: WHO), 9.
22. Sub-Saharan Africa loses about 5% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), or some $28.4 billion annually, a figure that exceed[ed] total aid flows and debt relief to the region in 2003.” On the other hand, “every one dollar spent in the sector creates on average another eight dollars in costs averted and productivity gained.
    World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Collaborative actions for sustainable water management. August 2005.
23. The number of people who lack safe drinking water is down to 884 million from 1.1 billion in 2006.
    United Nations. The Millenium Development Goals Report (New York: United Nations, 2009) 46.

SANITATION

1. At any given time, nearly half of the population of the developing world suffers from illness caused by lack of access to safe water and sanitation.
   Stockholm International Water Institute. Making Water a Part of Economic Development: The Benefits of Improved Water Management Services, 2005.
2. Two in five people do not have the security and dignity of a hygienic latrine or toilet.
   World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation. Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation: Special Focus on Sanitation (New York: UNICEF; Geneva: WHO, 2008) 2.
3. If even just a small portion of a displacement community is practicing open defecation, the whole population is at greater risk of diarrheal diseases, worm infestations and hepatitis.
   World Health Organization, Environmental Health in Emergencies and Disasters, 2003.
4. While access to safe water can decrease childhood water-related deaths by 15 to 20 percent, improved hygiene practices such as handwashing reduces deaths caused from diarrhea by 35 percent, and access to adequate sanitation reduces rates by 40 percent.
   WaterAid, “Integrated Projects”, available at http://www.wateraid.org/international/what_we_do/how_we_work/integrated_projects/default.asp
5. Every $1 spent in the sector creates on average another $8 in costs averted and productivity gained.
   United Nations Development Program, Beyond Scarcity: Power, Poverty and the Global Water Crisis, Human Development Report (2006).
6. A dollar invested in water and sanitation could give an economic gain of between $3 USD and $34 USD, depending on the nation.
   Hutton, Guy and Laurence Haller. Costs and Benefits of Water and Sanitation Improvements at the Global Level. World Health Organization, 2007.
7. A recent Water and Sanitation Program study showed that the lack of sanitation has cost countries anywhere from 1 percent to 7 percent of their GDP.
   WHO AND UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation. Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation. UNICEF, New York and WHO, Geneva, 2008.
8. Once girls reach puberty, lack of access to sanitation becomes a central cultural and human health issue, contributing to female illiteracy and low levels of education, in turn contributing to a cycle of poor health for pregnant women and their children.
   United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health. Sanitation as a key to global health: voices from the field. (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada: 2010)
9. By simply providing a separate latrine facility for girls, school enrollment rates for girls have been shown to improve by over 15 percent.
   UN WATER, “Sanitation: a wise investment for health, dignity, and development”, Key Messages for the International Year of Sanitation, 2008.
10. Of all the primary school-aged girls worldwide who are not enrolled in school, 41 percent live in South Asia and 35 percent reside in Sub-Saharan Africa.
    Fisher, Julie. “For Her it’s the Big Issue: Putting Women at the Centre of the Water Supply, Sanitation, and Hygiene. Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Evidence Report. Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council, March 2006.
11. If access to improved sanitation increased, diarrheal disease could subside, providing much need relief to those suffering from HIV/AIDS. In a study of HIV/AIDS individuals done in Uganda, the presence of a simple latrine reduced the risk of diarrheal disease by 31 percent.
    Weinger, Maurice. Dignity for All: Sanitation, Hygiene and HIV/AIDS. USAID, 2008
12. Nearly 40 million people currently live with HIV/AIDS
    USAID. Background on Integrating HIV/AIDS into Hygiene Improvement Program. May 2008.
13. In 2007, there were 2.7 million new HIV infections and 2 million HIV-related deaths.
    The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. 2008 Report on the global AIDS epidemic.
14. Access to adequate sanitation is extremely limited in many communities with a high prevalence of HIV/AIDS. Those with compromised immune systems, such as HIV/AIDS patients, are more prone to common illnesses and diseases, especially diarrhea.
    Obi, CL, B. Onabolu, M.N.B. Momba, J.O. Igumbor, J. Ramalivahna, P.O. Bessong, E.J. van Rensburg, M. Lukoto, E. Green, and T.B. Mulaudzi. The interesting cross-paths of HIV/AIDS and water in Southern Africa with special reference to South Africa. South African Water Research Commission, Vol. 32 No. 3, July 2006.
15. According to research studies by the United Nations Environment Programme, coastal habitats, fisheries, and marine wildlife in the South Asian Sea are threatened by untreated sewage discharge into coastal waters.
    WHO AND UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation. Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation: Special Focus on Sanitation. UNICEF, New York and WHO (Geneva, 2008), available at http://www.wssinfo.org/en/40_MDG2008.html
16. In developing nations, approximately 90 percent of sewage systems are being emptied into rivers, lakes, and nearby streams that communities use for drinking water.
    A. Carius, G. Dabelko, and A. Wolf. Water Conflict and Cooperation, Policy Briefing, United Nations Foundation (2005).
17. Sub-Saharan Africa loses about 5% of GDP, or some $28.4 billion annually, a figure that exceed[ed] total aid flows and debt relief to the region in 2003.
    Water and Sanitation Program. Economic Impacts of Sanitation in Southeast Asia: Summary. 2007.
18. Many children in the developing world live with constant diarrhea caused by lack of safe water and sanitation, and each year over 1.5 million children die from diarrheal diseases.
    WHO AND UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation. Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation. UNICEF, New York and WHO, Geneva, 2008.
19. 2.6 billion people – 72 percent and 21 percent of whom live in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, respectively – do not use improved sanitation facilities. Improved sanitation facilities ensure hygienic separation of human excreta from human contact.
    World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation. Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation: 2010 Update. (New York: UNICEF; Geneva: WHO), 6, 12.

HYGIENE

1. Unhygienic handling of water during transport or within the home can contaminate previously safe water. Hands are vehicles for transmitting pathogens to food, water, and mouths.
   WHO and UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme: Water Supply and Sanitation, Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation: Special Focus on Sanitation (New York: UNICEF and Geneva: WHO, 2008). http://www.wssinfo.org/en/40_MDG2008.html
2. Improving a community’s water supply generally reduces the incidence of diarrhea by approximately 15-40 percent. However, when cleaner water is combined with hygienic practices and good sanitation, diarrhea incidences decline by up to 65 percent.
   WHO and UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme: Global Water Supply and Sanitation Assessment Report (New York: UNICEF and Geneva: WHO, 2000).
3. If all people had access to WASH, the world’s total incidence of disease would decline by at least 10 percent.
   Bartram, Jamie; Robert Bos; Fiona Gore; Annette Pruss-Ustun. Safer Water, Better Health: Costs, benefits and sustainability of interventions to protect and promote health (Geneva: World Health Organization, 2008).
4. When communities gain all of the components of WASH, the incidence of diarrheal diseases decreases dramatically and many lives are saved, especially those of young children.
   United States Agency for International Development. Point of Use Water Quality (http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/global_health/eh/techareas/pou.html)
5. Diarrheal diseases, contracted by contaminated water, poor sanitation, and unhygienic practices, kill nearly 1.8 million people each year, and the vast majority are children under five.
   Mark Schwartz, Seeking Low-Cost Solutions to Sanitation Crisis in Africa (Palo Alto: Stanford, April 2009)
6. A study showed that the simple act of washing one’s hands with soap can decrease the risk of diarrheal disease in a community by 47 percent.
   Sandy Carincross and Val Curtis, Effect of Washing Hands with Soap on Diarrhea Risk in the Community: A Systematic Review (The Lancet, Infectious Diseases May 2003), Volume 3 Issue 5.
7. Almost 1 billion school days a year could be gained due to reduced diarrhoeal illness as a result of universal point-of-use water treatment.
   Hutton, G. and Haller, L. Evaluation of the Costs and Benefits of Water and Sanitation Improvements at the Global Level. (Geneva: WHO, 2004).
8. WASH development offers a tremendous return on investment. Research has shown that an average of eight dollars are generated in increased productivity for every one dollar spent in sanitation.
   Bartram, Jamie; Lawrence Haller; Guy Hutton. Economic and Health Effects of Increasing Low-Cost Water and Sanitation Interventions (Geneva:World Health Organization: 2006) 3.
9. Providing access to sufficient amounts of safe water and adequate sanitation facilities and introducing effective hygiene behaviors are essential to reducing the burden of disease and promoting community-wide health benefits.
   WHO, Water Suppy, Sanitation, and Hygiene Development (2009)
10. In 2004, over one thousand individuals were observed in Minnesota State Fair restrooms to document handwashing tendencies. Female youths had the highest average observed hand washing rate of the four groups observed (66%), followed by adults males (53%), adult females (50%), and male youths (18%).
    Paul B. Allwood, “Handwashing among public restroom users at the Minnesota State Fair” (St. Paul: Division of Environmental Health, Minnesota Department of Health, 2004), http://www.health.state.mn.us/handhygiene/stats/fairstudy.html
11. A study was conducted of 3,817 households in twenty-nine Ethiopian communities. The study showed that, in a region where one in every six children dies before the age of five (a high percentage of them from diarrheal diseases), only 37 percent of those in the study washed their hands adequately and only 18 percent used soap.
    Sandy Carincross and Val Curtis, Effect of Washing Hands with Soap on Diarrhea Risk in the Community: A Systematic Review (The Lancet, Infectious Diseases May 2003), Volume 3 Issue 5.
12. The International Water and Sanitation Centre studied 88 water and sanitation projects in 15 countries and found that projects designed to run with the full participation of women are more effective and sustainable than those that are not.
    Interagency Task Force on Gender and Water, Gender, Water and Sanitation: A Policy Brief. UN Water and Interagency Network on Women and Gender Equality, June 2006.