The United Nations (UN) has declared 2008 to be the International Year of Sanitation (IYS). The goal during the year is to raise awareness and accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development Goal of reducing by half the proportion of people without access to basic sanitation by 2015. At least 2.6 billion people - some 41 percent of the global population - do not have access to latrines or any sort of basic sanitation facilities. As a result millions suffer from a wide range of preventable illnesses such as diarrhea, which claim thousands of lives each day, primarily young children. Improving access to sanitation is a good investment because:
- Sanitation is vital for human health
- Sanitation generates economic benefits
- Sanitation contributes to dignity and social development
- Sanitation helps the environment
- Improving sanitation is achievable!
In declaring the year to be the IYS, the UN is responding, among other things, to the result of a major study they undertook, in which they evaluated the international state of the environment.
The UN gives the environment a failing grade - especially with regard to water.
In November 2007, the United Nations Environment Programme released a 500 page document, Global Environment Outlook GEO 4. In most regards, the report finds that humans have failed to be good stewards of the environment; the problems we have created could be addressed but have not been thus far; and that there are significant challenges with regard to water availability, use, purification and conservation.
The Report suggests that "If present trends continue, 1.8 billion people will be living in countries or regions with absolute water scarcity by 2025 and two-thirds of the world population could be subject to water stress." Even areas of the world with adequate water may be imperiled due to poor sanitation. For example, Argentina, Chile, Russia and Egypt have inadequate sanitation, though for the most part, they have sufficient water.
There is much that may be done. For further information on the International Year of Sanitation, you may visit the UN's website: http://esa.un.org/iys/.