The new report “Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation. Update 2014” from UNICEF and the World Health Organization “highlights a narrowing disparity in access to cleaner water and better sanitation between rural and urban areas.” Although some global progress was made “sharp geographic, socio-cultural, and economic inequalities in access to improved drinking water and sanitation facilities still persist around the world.” (Unicef, 2014)
The following tables present some of the findings relevant to the program countries of The Hunger Project.
- 82% of the one billion people practising open defecation in the world live in 10 countries. Among these countries are India with 597 million people practising open defection, Ethiopia with 34 million, and Mozambique with 10 million.
- Countries which could reduce open defection are Bangladesh, Benin, Ethiopia, and Peru. They belong to the 10 countries that have achieved the highest reduction of open defecation:
| % of the population practising open defecation, 1990 | % of the population practising open defecation, 2012 | Percentage point reduction in practice of open defecation, 1990–2012 | |
| Ethiopia | 92 | 37 | 55 |
| Bangladesh | 34 | 3 | 31 |
| Peru | 33 | 6 | 27 |
| Benin | 80 | 54 | 26 |
- The following table shows the open defecation practices in Burkina Faso and Ethiopia according to level of education, and underlines significant disparities:
| No Education, Preschool | Primary Education | Secondary Education | Higher Education | |
| Burkina Faso | 76% | 48% | 14% | – |
| Ethiopia | 54% | 34% | 15% | 9% |
- The report’s findings on saniation and drinking water for all project countries with regard to the MDG targets read as follows (for a detailed breakdown see Annex 3):
Use of Sanitation Facilities
| Progress towards MDG target | Proportion of the 2012 population that gained access since 2000 (%) | |
| Bangladesh | not on track | 19 |
| Benin | not on track | 8 |
| Bolivia | not on track | 16 |
| Burkina Faso | not on track | 10 |
| Ethiopia | not on track | 18 |
| Ghana | met target | 35 |
| India | not on track | 14 |
| Malawi | not on track | 3 |
| Mexico | met target | 21 |
| Mozambique | not on track | 11 |
| Peru | on track | 18 |
| Senegal | not on track | 21 |
| Uganda | not on track | 14 |
Use of Drinking Water Sources
| Progress towards MDG target | Proportion of the 2012 population that gained access since 2000 (%) | |
| Bangladesh | met target | 20 |
| Benin | on track | 30 |
| Bolivia | met target | 24 |
| Burkina Faso | met target | 40 |
| Ethiopia | on track | 31 |
| Ghana | met target | 35 |
| India | met target | 25 |
| Malawi | met target | 31 |
| Mexico | met traget | 19 |
| Mozambique | not on track | 19 |
| Peru | on track | 17 |
| Senegal | progress insufficient | 26 |
| Uganda | met target | 37 |
To read the full report and see the findings click here.