New Report 2014: Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation
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.
UNCoLSC Recommendations to increase access to, and use of Life-saving commodities
EVERY WOMAN EVERY CHILD
“Every Woman Every Child. This focus is long overdue. With the launch of the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health, we have an opportunity to improve the health of hundreds of millions of women and children around the world, and in so doing, to improve the lives of all people.” — United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
The following are lists of areas and recommendations by UNCoLSC:(Adopted from Early Woman Every Child website)
Area 1. Improved markets:
Shaping global markets: By 2013, effective global mechanisms such as pooled procurement and aggregated demand are in place to increase the availability of quality, life-saving commodities at an optimal price and volume.
Shaping local delivery markets: By 2014, local health providers and private sector actors in all Every Woman Every Child countries are incentivized to increase production, distribution and appropriate promotion of the 13 commodities.
Innovative financing: By the end of 2013, innovative, results-based financing is in place to rapidly increase access to the 13 commodities by those most in need and foster innovations.
Quality strengthening: By 2015, at least three manufacturers per commodity are manufacturing and marketing quality-certified and affordable products.
Regulatory efficiency: By 2015, all Every Woman Every Child countries have standardized and streamlined their registration requirements and assessment processes for the 13 live-saving commodities with support from stringent regulatory authorities, the World Health Organization and regional collaboration.
Area 2. Improved national delivery:
Supply and awareness: By 2015, all Every Woman Every Child countries have improved the supply of life-saving commodities and build on information and communication technology (ICT) best practices for making these improvements.
Demand and utilization: By 2014, all Every Woman Every Child countries in conjunction with the private sector and civil society have developed plans to implement at scale appropriate interventions to increase demand for and utilization of health services and products, particularly among under-served populations.
Reaching women and children: By 2014, all Every Woman Every Child countries are addressing financial barriers to ensure the poorest members of society have access to the life-saving commodities.
Performance and accountability: By the end of 2013, all Every Woman Every Child countries have proven mechanisms such as checklists in place to ensure that health-care providers are knowledgeable about the latest national guidelines.
Area 3. Improved integration of private sector and consumer needs.
Product innovation: By 2014, research and development for improved life-saving commodities has been prioritized, funded and commenced.
Partnership for Maternal Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH) Policy Brief
PMNCH
The Partnership for Maternal Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH), which The Hunger Project (THP) is part of, disclosed a policy brief on “Placing Healthy Women and Children at the Heart of the Post 2015 Sustainable Development Framework” on 31 March 2014. PMNCH through its Post 2015 Working Group is advocating for a Post 2015 framework that addresses women’s and children’s health issues and is rights-based, people-centered, equity focused, gender sensitive, participatory and adopts a cross-sectoral approach to health.
Specifically PMNCH calls for the Post 2015 Framework to:
Include a stand-alone health goal that maximizes health and well-being, specifying an end to preventable mortality and morbidity and fulfillment of sexual and reproductive health and rights; achieving this through universal health coverage, with targets that guide countries to leave no one behind
Focus on the most critical population groups for maximizing progress towards improving health and development outcomes, particularly newborns and adolescents
Integrate health-related targets into all relevant sectors such as nutrition, education, gender, and infrastructure such as water, sanitation and energy to address the underlying determinants of health
Include differentiated targets for countries based on their levels of development.
(Adopted from PMNCH)
For a related blog on Post 2015 agendas, search Post-2015 on our advocacy page.
About Partnership for Maternal Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH).
PMNCH joins the reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health (RMNCH) communities into an alliance of more than 500 members, across seven constituencies: academic, research and teaching institutions; donors and foundations; health-care professionals; multilateral agencies; non-governmental organizations; partner countries; and the private sector (PMNCH, 2014).
World Health Day 2014: Combating vector-borne diseases
World Health Day is celebrated on 7 April every year to mark the anniversary of the founding of World Heath Organization (WHO) in 1948. Each year a theme is selected that highlights a priority area of public health. The Day provides an opportunity for individuals in every community to get involved in activities that can lead to better health (WHO, 2014).
The theme/topic for 2014 anniversary is vector-borne diseases.
More than half of the world’s population is at risk of these diseases. Increased travel, trade and migration make even more people vulnerable.
Goal: better protection from vector-borne diseases
The campaign aims to raise awareness about the threat posed by vectors and vector-borne diseases and to stimulate families and communities to take action to protect themselves. A core element of the campaign will be to provide communities with information. As vector-borne diseases begin to spread beyond their traditional boundaries, action needs to be expanded beyond the countries where these diseases currently thrive.
More broadly, through the campaign, WHO member states are aiming for the following:
families living in areas where diseases are transmitted by vectors know how to protect themselves;
travelers know how to protect themselves from vectors and vector-borne diseases when travelling to countries where these pose a health threat;
in countries where vector-borne diseases are a public health problem, ministries of health put in place measures to improve the protection of their populations; and
in countries where vector-borne diseases are an emerging threat, health authorities work with environmental and relevant authorities locally and in neighboring countries to improve integrated surveillance of vectors and to take measures to prevent their proliferation.