One in three people in the world are in danger of sickness and disease because they don’t have access to a clean, safe toilet. Shockingly, every two minutes a child under five dies from a disease linked to unsafe water and poor sanitation and around 892 million people are still forced to defecate in the open. This is often hardest on women and girls who risk shame, harassment and even violence, just by going to the toilet.
But many of these deaths can be prevented with clean toilets, hand-washing and safe drinking water. We believe that access to sanitation is a basic human right. According to the UN, six in ten people globally still don’t have access to safely managed sanitation facilities. Clean, safe toilets can free people from a life of disease and indignity.
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) is the focus of UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: ensuring access to water and sanitation for all.
We build the knowledge and develop the capacity of relevant stakeholders in the water and sanitation sector and people in rural communities for best practice and also establish mechanisms for ensuring sustainability.
We raise funds for people living in rural communities because access to safe water, improved sanitation and proper hygiene are crucial to the development of any community.
in many rural communities in Nigeria, Open defecation perpetuates a vicious cycle of disease and poverty. Communities where open defection is most widespread have the highest number of deaths of children aged under 5 years as well as the highest levels of malnutrition and poverty, and big disparities of wealth.
Improved sanitation extend well beyond reducing the risk of diarrhoea. These include:
- reducing the spread of intestinal worms, schistosomiasis and trachoma, which are neglected tropical diseases that cause suffering for millions;
- reducing the severity and impact of malnutrition;
- promoting dignity and boosting safety, particularly among women and girls;
- promoting school attendance: girls’ school attendance is particularly boosted by the provision of separate sanitary facilities; and
- potential recovery of water, renewable energy and nutrients from faecal waste.- ref:who
…together we can change this narrative