Sanitation and Water Facilities Suffering From Lack of Funding

The UN’s Water Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking Water, GLAAS report shows that 4.2 billion people across the world achieved access to improved drinking water between 1995 and 2018.

The Death rate among children due to diarrheal infections, which are deeply associated with inadequate sanitation, poor drinking water, and hygiene have also fallen over the last 20 years from 1.5 million in 1990 to just over 400,000 in 2018.

On a further encouraging note, the WHO (World Health Organization) report shows that international aid for sanitation, water and hygiene is soaring. Between 2010 and 2018, it went up by 80% – from 8.3 billion to $15.9 billion.

However, the reports also say that still a lot of work needs to be done. Mainly to decrease inequalities and measure the huge scale of the global challenge:

2.8 billion people still do not have access to better sanitation

1.5 billion people are habituated to open defecation

911 million people have no means of an advanced drinking water supply.

Moreover,  the WHO report reveals that 100’s of millions still do not have clean water to wash their hands and feet, and if this can be overcome then this would have a great effect on reducing the spread of diarrheal infection, the second leading cause of death among kids under the age of 5.

The dearth of clean water also increases the risk of hepatitis, cholera, and typhoid which are water-borne diseases that are open to explosive outbreaks.

Poor hygiene and sanitation can increase the spread of infections like blinding trachoma, schistosomiasis, and intestinal worms which affect people in this fast-growing world.

The report presents a detailed analysis of the global challenges concerning Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) provision after using survey data from 23 external support organizations and 94 countries. It says that the universal human right to drinking water and sanitation is embodied in the national legislation of 2/3rds of the countries which were surveyed. Also, 81% of them say they have policies in place for sanitation and drinking water, and more than 79% have policies for hygiene.

By giving access to “advanced” drinking water, the WHO report means having a source of water that is safe from external contamination, mainly contamination of fecal materials. Samples include piped water into the yard, home or plot; protected spring; and a standpipe or public tap.

An advanced sanitation facility means separating human excreta hygienically from human contact.

The report shows that while international funding for WASH has been going up, it is still not enough to meet the requirements; 80% of the nations reported they do not have enough finance to meet their goals for sanitation and drinking water.

The report highlights the crucial funding gap in underdeveloped rural areas and the inequalities of allocation. For example, most of the funding of sanitation continues to benefit those living in urban cities, whereas the majority who don’t have access to sanitation, live in rural areas. Spending on sanitation supplies in rural areas is noted to be amounting to less than 10% of total WASH funding.

There is also a mismatch between political backup for sanitation and the universal access to water and what happens at the designing and implementation level. Less than 1/3rd of the nations that were surveyed have fully implemented, funded and regularly reviewed WASH plans as per WHO report.

Countries should also concentrate on increasing their monitoring of WASH – many gaps were reported in their data gathering frameworks. This results in incomplete and fragmented stats, which leads to weak analysis.

Another of the crucial challenges the report enlightens is ensuring the sanitation services and provision of water in institutions, health clinics, and schools.

Providing WASH services in schools will ensure kids stay hygienic and learn lifelong hygiene practices. WASH provision in health centers is not only important to avoid disease outbreaks, but they also ensure patients get the safety and privacy they need, especially pregnant women giving birth.

Yet, the reports say that less than 25% of countries that were surveyed have national WASH plans that were being fully accomplished, financed and regularly reviewed.

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