Sanitation & Hygiene

Sanitation and hygiene are critical to health, survival, and development. Many countries are challenged in providing adequate sanitation for their entire populations, leaving people at risk for water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH)-related diseases. Throughout the world, an estimated 2.5 billion people lack basic sanitation (more than 35% of the world's population) ^{1, 2}. Basic sanitation is described as having access to facilities for the safe disposal of human waste (feces and urine), as well as having the ability to maintain hygienic conditions, through services such as garbage collection, industrial/hazardous waste management, and wastewater treatment and disposal.

Without immediate acceleration in progress, the world will not achieve even half the United Nations’ Millenium Development Goal (MDG) sanitation target (i.e., to halve the proportion of people without sustainable access to basic sanitation by 2015). To meet this target, at least 173 million people on average per year will need to begin using improved sanitation facilities ¹.

For more information on water, sanitation, and water-related hygiene, visit CDC Healthy Water's Hygiene in Less-Developed Countries, Assessing Access to Water and Sanitation, Global WASH-related Diseases and Global WASH-related Programs pages.

1. World Health Organization and UNICEF. Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation – Special Focus on Sanitation.
2. U.S. Census Bureau. International Programs Center: Population Clocks.