Far Too Few Using Improved Sanitation; More People Using Drinking-Water From Safe Sources-UNICEF/WHO

Every day, over 2.5 billion people suffer from a lack of access to improved sanitation [1]and nearly 1.2 billion practise open defecation, the riskiest sanitary practice of all, according to a report issued today by the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Drinking-water Supply and Sanitation (JMP). The JMP report, titled "Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation - Special Focus on Sanitation," comes halfway through the International Year of Sanitation. The report assesses -- for the first time ever -- global, regional and country progress using an innovative "ladder" concept. This shows sanitation practices in greater detail, enabling experts to highlight trends in using improved, shared and unimproved sanitation facilities and the trend in open defecation. Similarly, the 'drinking water ladder' shows the percentage of... [read full story]