More than 2.3 billion people worldwide lack basic sanitation with almost half forced to defecate in the open, World Health Organisation has said.
The organisation in its latest report said unless countries make comprehensive policy shifts and invest more funds, the world will not reach the goal of universal sanitation coverage where every person has access to toilets that safely contain excreta by 2030.
Statistics from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics show that 5.6 million Kenyans have to find a bush whenever pressed, with most open defecation taking place among the rural population.
Due to inadequate toilets or because it is dangerous to go to the toilet at night, people in urban slums poop in a bag and then throw out the bag in the open, which is ‘flying the toilet'.
By adopting WHO’s new guidelines, countries can significantly reduce the 829,000 annual diarrhoeal deaths due to unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene.
For every dollar invested in sanitation, WHO estimates a nearly six-fold return as measured by lower health costs, increased productivity and fewer premature deaths.
"Without proper access, millions of people the world over are deprived of the dignity, safety and convenience of a decent toilet," WHO Director-General for programmes Dr Soumya Swaminathan said.
Swaminathan said sanitation is a fundamental foundation of human health and development and underpins the core mission of WHO and ministries of health worldwide.
Dr Maria Neira, Director, Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health at WHO said billions of people live without access to even the most basic sanitation services.
“The transmission of a host of diseases, including cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid and polio, is linked to dirty water and inadequately treated sewage. Poor sanitation is also a major factor in the transmission of neglected tropical diseases such as intestinal worms, schistosomiasis and trachoma, as well as contributing to malnutrition,” Neira said.
WHO developed the new guidelines on sanitation and health because current sanitation programmes are not achieving anticipated health gains and there is a lack of authoritative health-based guidance on sanitation.