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Toilet-for-all: WHO
Why in the news ?
- The World Health Organization (WHO) launched the first global guidelines on sanitation and health.
- It said world will not reach the goal of universal sanitation coverage by 2030 unless countries make comprehensive policy shifts and invest more funds.
More in the news
- WHO guidelines :
- By adopting WHO’s new guidelines, countries can significantly reduce the diarrhoeal deaths due to unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene.
- For every US $1 invested in sanitation, WHO estimates a nearly six-fold return as measured by lower health costs, increased productivity and fewer premature deaths.
- Worldwide, 2.3 billion people lack basic sanitation (with almost half forced to defecate in the open).
- They are among the 4.5 billion without access to safely managed sanitation services – in other words a toilet connected to a sewer or pit or septic tank that treats human waste.
- Without proper access, millions of people the world over are deprived of the dignity, safety and convenience of a decent toilet.
- Current sanitation programmes are not achieving anticipated health gains and there is a lack of authoritative health-based guidance on sanitation.
- Sanitation is a fundamental foundation of human health and development and underpins the core mission of WHO and ministries of health worldwide.
WHO
- The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that is concerned with international public health.
- It was established on 7 April 1948, and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
- The WHO is a member of the United Nations Development Group.
- WHO strive to combat diseases – communicable diseases like influenza and HIV, and non-communicable diseases like cancer and heart disease.
Source
The Hindu.