LIBERIA: World Toilet Day 2014
17,800 child deaths in Liberia since 2000 due to lack of toilets – Today 36 prominent international health and development experts including representatives from WaterAid…, AMREF Health Africa, the World Medical Association and others have called for an end to a crisis that has claimed the lives of over 10 million children under the age of five since the year 2000, with over 17,800 having died over this period in Liberia also contributing to this figure[1].
In an open letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki Moon, the signatories highlight the desperate waste of life caused by people not having access to a basic toilet. Without basic sanitation, children have no choice but to live and play in areas contaminated by human waste.
Today also sadly reminds us of the current crisis we are facing in West Africa where Ebola has taken the lives of our precious children and mothers. This is further exacerbated with the Cholera outbreak that is also accounting for many sick children in countries like Niger, Ghana and Sierra Leone. A lack of safe toilets and clean water is a major factor contributing to this.
Over 8 in 10 children in Liberia do not have access to a basic toilet[3], which alongside unsafe drinking water and a lack of hygiene services, contributes to three of the main killers of children: under nutrition, pneumonia and diarrhoea, the letter states.
The letter, coordinated by the international development organisation WaterAid, has been published to coincide with World Toilet Day, also highlights that the sanitation ‘crisis touches every moment of every child’s life, from birth to adulthood, if they are lucky enough to make it that far‘.
WaterAidLiberia Acting team Leader, Chuchu K. Selma today said:
“The dangers of poor sanitation and dirty water have been known for around 150 years, yet just under 3.5 million people do not have a basic toilet to use in Liberia, which harms the health of children and often leaves a lifetime legacy of disease and poverty.
“Those children need our government to collectively step up and commit that by 2030 no home, hospital or school will be without a toilet and clean water.”
The letter coincides with a new briefing released by WaterAid: ‘Child of Mine’ which states that sanitation ‘remains one of the most neglected issues in developing countries and international development aid’[4]. As the briefing highlights, this is despite a quarter of the 162 million children globally who have had their growth stunted and their physical and cognitive development impaired, because they suffered repeated bouts of diarrhoea when very young.
According to the World Health Organization, 88% of cases of diarrhoea are attributable to a lack of access to basic sanitation, unsafe drinking water and poor hygiene provision[5]. In total, over 12 million children are estimated to have died because of diarrhoeal diseases from 2000 to 2013 globally, with a lack of these services resulting in 10.6 million of these deaths[6].
The release of the letter to the UN Secretary-General and the publication of the briefing come at a crucial time, as governments work to complete the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that run from 2000 to 2015, and negotiate the new Sustainable Development Goals, which will replace them. WaterAidLiberia is calling on the Government to commit to backing a new goal for everyone everywhere to have access to clean water and basic sanitation by 2030.
Amref Health Africa, which works in 9 African countries to improve health through community work and strengthening health systems, is also a signatory to the letter.
Amref Health Africa’s Director General, Dr TeguestGuerma, said:
“Safe sanitation, good hygiene practice and clean water are fundamental to improving health and well-being. But the shocking reality is that far too many people lack even these basic services. As a result, millions of people die every year from diseases that could have been prevented.
“Progress in tackling this crisis has been far too slow but governments can take the first crucial step by strongly and publicly backing calls for universal access to these services during negotiations around the Sustainable Development Goals. As experts in health, we know that this is the necessary prescription.”
The open letter includes the call for the UN Chief, Ban-Ki Moon ‘to lead the world to a future of better health, dignity and prosperity for all by championing a dedicated goal to deliver water and sanitation to everyone, everywhere by 2030.’
[1] Analysis conducted by WaterAid using data from Supplementary appendix of the Global, regional, and national causes of child mortality in 2000–13, with projections to inform post-2015 priorities: an updated systematic analysis, published in the Lancet Journal, 1 October 2014, and assessment by World Health Organisation that ‘88% of diarrhoeal disease is attributed to unsafe water supply, inadequate sanitation and hygiene’ as highlighted in their Water, sanitation and hygiene links to health fact sheet, updated 2004.
[3] UNICEF and World Health Organisation Joint Monitoring Programme data tables.
[4] Child of mine – How putting toilets at the centre of the Sustainable Development Goals can transform the health of children everywhere by 2030. WaterAid November 2014.
[5] Assessment by World Health Organisation ‘88% of diarrhoeal disease is attributed to unsafe water supply, inadequate sanitation and hygiene’ as highlighted in their Water, sanitation and hygiene links to health fact sheet, updated 2004.
[6] Analysis conducted by WaterAid using data from Supplementary appendix of the Global, regional, and national causes of child mortality in 2000–13, with projections to inform post-2015 priorities: an updated systematic analysis, published in the Lancet Journal, 1 October 2014, and assessment by World Health Organisation that ‘88% of diarrhoeal disease is attributed to unsafe water supply, inadequate sanitation and hygiene’ as highlighted in their Water, sanitation and hygiene links to health fact sheet, updated 2004.
