There is still discrimination among the poor and the rich in accessing quality water, sanitation and hygiene in Bangladesh despite phenomenal progress in the sector, according to a new report by UNICEF and the World Health Organisation.
The Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) report, 'Progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene: 2000-2017: Special focus on inequalities' finds that while significant progress has been made toward achieving universal access to basic water, sanitation and hygiene, there are huge gaps in the quality of services provided.
In Bangladesh, 93 per cent of the poorest had access to basic services like water and sanitation in 2000 while for the richest it was 99 per cent. In case of basic sanitation, the percentage for the poorest was 8.0 while it was 63 per cent for the richest.
In 2017, the JMP report shows that 95 per cent of the poorest quintile had access to basic drinking water and 99 per cent of the richest. About 23 per cent of the poorest had access to basic sanitation while 75 per cent of the richest got the facility.
Only 5.0 per cent of the poorest had access to basic hygiene facilities and 65 per cent of the richest. About 25 per cent of the poorest have no hygiene facilities while it was 5.0 per cent for the richest, the report showed.
It further said that billions of people around the world are continuing to suffer from poor access to water, sanitation and hygiene which is an essential foundation for good health.
The report reveals that 1.8 billion people have gained access to basic drinking water services since 2000, but there are vast inequalities in the accessibility, availability and quality of these services. It is estimated that 1 in 10 people (785 million) still lack basic services, including the 144 million who drink untreated surface water. The data shows that 8 in 10 people living in rural areas lacked access to these services and one in four countries with estimates for different wealth groups, the coverage of basic services among the richest was at least twice as high as among the poorest.
The report also says that 2.1 billion people have gained access to basic sanitation services since 2000 but in many parts of the world the wastes produced are not safely managed. It also reveals that 2 billion people still lack basic sanitation, among whom 7 out of 10 live in rural areas and one third live in the Least Developed Countries.
Since 2000, the proportion of the population practicing open defecation has been halved, from 21 per cent to 9 per cent, and 23 countries have achieved near elimination, meaning less than 1 per cent of the population is practicing open defecation. Yet, 673 million people still practice open defecation, and they are increasingly concentrated in 'high burden' countries. Worse, in 39 countries, the number of people practicing open defecation actually increased, the majority of which are in sub-Saharan Africa where many countries have experienced strong population growth over this period.
Finally, the report highlights new data showing 3 billion people lack basic handwashing facilities with soap and water at home in 2017. Nearly three quarters of the population of the Least Developed Countries did not have basic handwashing facilities. Every year, 297, 000 children under five die due to diarrhoea linked to inadequate WASH. Poor sanitation and contaminated water are also linked to transmission of diseases such as cholera, dysentery, hepatitis A, and typhoid.
Some 2.2 billion people around the world do not have safely managed drinking water services, 4.2 billion people do not have safely managed sanitation services, and 3 billion lack basic handwashing facilities.
"Countries must double their efforts on sanitation or we will not reach universal access by 2030," said Dr Maria Neira, WHO Director, Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health.
"If countries fail to step up efforts on sanitation, safe water and hygiene, we will continue to live with diseases like diarrhoea, cholera, typhoid, hepatitis A and neglected tropical diseases including trachoma, intestinal worms and schistosomiasis, the report says. Investing in water, sanitation and hygiene is cost-effective and good for society in so many ways", it added.
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