New publication: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme 2017 report The WHO/UNICEF JMP has published its first report of the SDG period, Progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene: 2017 update and SDG baselines.
Estimates of safely managed drinking water services, the indicator for SDG target 6.1, are presented for 96 countries, while estimates are provided for safely managed sanitation services (target 6.2) for 84 countries.
SDG target 6.2 also includes hygiene, and the JMP has rebranded itself as the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene.
(Login with username “washdata” and password “preview”.)
The report finds that in 2015, 29% of the global population (2.1 billion people) lacked safely managed drinking water services – meaning water at home, available, and safe.
61% of the global population (4.5 billion people) lacked safely managed sanitation services – meaning use of a toilet or latrine that leads to treatment or safe disposal of excreta.
Data on handwashing were too few to make a global estimate, but in sub-Saharan Africa, 15% of the population had access to a handwashing facility with soap and water.
The 2.1 billion people without safely managed drinking water services includes 1.3 billion people with basic services, meaning an improved water source located within 30 minutes; 263 million people with limited services, or an improved water source requiring more than 30 minutes to collect water; 423 million people taking water from unprotected wells and springs, and 159 million people collecting untreated surface waterfrom lakes, ponds, rivers and streams.
Yet the data we have now are more than enough to show the tasks at hand: to eliminate open defecation for the nearly 900 million people who continue to lack even the most rudimentary sanitation; to bring basic water, sanitation and hygiene within the reach of the most disadvantaged; and to support progress for those who already have basic services, but still don’t have truly safe drinking water or adequate sanitation.
Link to the report: https://washdata.org/report/jmp-2017-report-launch-version0 JMP website: www.washdata.org (Login with username “washdata” and password “preview”) Press release: http://who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2017/water-sanitation-hygiene/en/