Globally, 2.6 billion people lack access to safe and clean toilets. For example, 92 per cent of the population in Afghanistan don't have proper sanitation; 67 per cent in India as well.
A gramme of human faeces contains 10 million viruses, one million bacteria, 1,000 parasite cysts and 100 parasite eggs
Diarrhoeal diseases, caused by a lack of sanitation and water, are the second biggest killer of children--5,000 each day. This is five times the number of children affected by hiv /Aids
Effects of improper sanitation are estimated to have an economic cost of around us $38 billion per year in developing countries. Over 440 million school days are lost each year due to water-related diseases. Proper sanitation will help bring 11 per cent more girls to school in developing countries
Till 2015, an extra us $10 billion is needed
annually to give sanitation to half the people who lack it now, as stated in the UN's Millennium Development Goals, 2002. An estimated 1.6 billion people will need access to improved sanitation over the period 2005-2015 to meet the target. Yet, if the trend since 1990 continues, the world may miss the target by almost 600 million people. In Africa, the objectives might be achieved only by 2076
Countries, especially developing ones, spend less on providing sanitation facilities. The aid on other areas of development has doubled across the globe while the share spent on sanitation has come down. Investment on sanitation can bring better returns than from any other development intervention
un says for each us $1 spent on sanitation, about us $9 is saved in terms of health, education and economic development