UN News Centre, 19 November 2014
For every dollar invested in water and sanitation, there is a $4.3 return in the form of reduced health care costs for individuals and society around the world, where 2.5 billion people still lack access to basic sanitation services, with 1 billion practicing open defection, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) said today.
WHO released a major new report behalf of UN-Water that showed that while global efforts to provide improved water and sanitation are gaining momentum, “serious gaps” in funding continue to hamper progress.
The UN health agency also noted that “At the time of writing, poor WASH [water and sanitation] conditions in communities and institutional settings, especially health facilities, have been exacerbating the spread of Ebola in West Africa.” Read more....