Water and Sanitation: Peace Imperatives

• Unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene are responsible for the deaths of around 1,000 children under five every day. (WHO, 2023)
• Children who live in extremely fragile contexts are three times more likely to practise open defecation, four times more likely to lack basic sanitation services and eight times more likely to lack basic drinking water services. (UNICEF, 2024)
• 3.5 billion people still live without safely managed sanitation, including 419 million who practise open defecation. (WHO/UNICEF, 2023)
• 2.2 billion people still live without safely managed drinking water, including 115 million people who drink surface water. (WHO/UNICEF, 2023)
• 2 billion people still lack basic hygiene services, including 653 million with no facility at all. (WHO/UNICEF, 2023)

Global report reveals major gaps in menstrual health and hygiene in schools:

Around the world, menstrual health and hygiene needs are being overlooked due to limited access to information, education, products and services, as well as inadequate facilities and inequalities.

A new report, Progress on drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene in schools 2015–2023: special focus on menstrual health, launched by 联合国儿童基金会 and World Health Organization on Menstrual Hygiene Day, analyses for the first time emerging national data on menstrual health and hygiene in schools globally.

Ten key facts from the report:

• Worldwide, only 2 out of 5 schools (39%) provide menstrual health education. This increases in secondary schools, with 84% of secondary schools in Central and Southern Asia, for example, providing menstrual education, compared to 34% in primary schools.?
• Less than 1 in 3 schools (31%) globally have bins for menstrual waste in girls’ toilets. This drops to 1 in 5 schools in Least Developed Countries (17%), and only 1 in 10 schools (or 11%) in sub-Saharan Africa.?
• Menstrual products are not always readily available, with many unable to afford them. In sub-Saharan Africa, for example, only 1 in 8 schools (12%) provide menstrual materials for free or for purchase.?
• In many countries, adolescent schoolgirls do not have access to a clean toilet or other dedicated private space to change menstrual products in school.?
• Unequal access to water and soap is an additional issue for millions of adolescent schoolgirls. Girls in urban areas, private schools and girls-only schools are more likely to have access to a private place with water and soap, highlighting inequalities even within the same country.?
• Millions around the world are unaware or unprepared for menstruation before having their first period. A study in Ethiopia, for example, reveals that less than half the surveyed girls knew about their periods before their first time.?
• Studies show that stigma related to menstruation remains widespread, with adolescents often feeling ashamed or unable to openly discuss the topic. This shame can affect their mental health and school attendance.?
• No national datasets were identified on how many teachers are trained to teach about menstrual hygiene, indicating a significant gap in educational support. Teachers play a crucial role in providing accurate information and creating a supportive environment, but without proper training they are ill-equipped to address students' needs.?
• Only 30 countries, over one-third in sub-Saharan Africa, have relevant data tracking at least one of the globally recommended priority indicators. This lack of data hampers efforts to understand and address the issues comprehensively.?
• While countries such as Zambia and the Philippines have shown marked improvements in making menstrual products and services available in schools, more needs to be done. Change is possible with targeted policies and investments.?

The report underscores the urgent need for global action to improve menstrual health and hygiene in schools. By addressing these issues, we can ensure that every schoolgirl can manage her menstruation with dignity, safety and confidence.

The new UNICEF-WHO report also includes progress on broader access to water, sanitation, and hygiene in schools. Today, 1 in 5 children (447 million) still lack basic drinking water services at their school, 1 in 5 lack basic sanitation services (427 million), and 1 in 3 children (646 million) don’t have access to basic hygiene services. Achieving the relevant Sustainable Development Goal by 2030 will require a two-fold increase in current rates of progress for basic drinking water, a two-fold increase for basic sanitation, and a four-fold increase for basic hygiene services.

Women and girls bear brunt of water and sanitation crisis – UNICEF-WHO report:

Women and girls responsible for fetching water in 7 out of 10 households without supplies on premises, according to first in-depth analysis of gender inequalities in drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) in households

Globally, women are most likely to be responsible for fetching water for households, while girls are nearly twice as likely as boys to bear the responsibility, and spend more time doing it each day, according to a new report released today by UNICEF and WHO.

Progress on household drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) 2000-2022: Special focus on gender – which provides the first in-depth analysis of gender inequalities in WASH – also notes that women and girls are more likely to feel unsafe using a toilet outside of the home and disproportionately feel the impact of lack of hygiene.

“Every step a girl takes to collect water is a step away from learning, play, and safety,” said Cecilia Sharp, UNICEF Director of WASH and CEED. “Unsafe water, toilets, and handwashing at home robs girls of their potential, compromises their well-being, and perpetuates cycles of poverty. Responding to girls’ needs in the design and implementation of WASH programmes is critical to reaching universal access to water and sanitation and achieving gender equality and empowerment.”

According to the report, globally, 1.8 billion people live in households without water supplies on the premises. Women and girls aged 15 and older are primarily responsible for water collection in 7 out of 10 such households, compared with 3 in 10 households for their male peers. Girls under 15 (7 %) are also more likely than boys under 15 (4 %) to fetch water. In most cases, women and girls make longer journeys to collect it, losing time in education, work, and leisure, and putting themselves at risk of physical injury and dangers on the way.

The report also shows that more than half a billion people still share sanitation facilities with other households, compromising women’s and girls’ privacy, dignity, and safety. For example, recent surveys from 22 countries show that among households with shared toilets, women and girls are more likely than men and boys to feel unsafe walking alone at night and face sexual harassment and other safety risks. ?

Furthermore, inadequate WASH services increase health risks for women and girls and limit their ability to safely and privately manage their periods. Among 51 countries with available data, women and adolescent girls in the poorest households and those with disabilities are the most likely to lack a private place to wash and change.

“The latest data from WHO shows a stark reality: 1.4 million lives are lost each year due to inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene,” said Dr Maria Neira, WHO Director, Environment, Climate Change and Health Department. “Women and girls not only face WASH-related infectious diseases, like diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections, they face additional health risks because they are vulnerable to harassment, violence, and injury when they have to go outside the home to haul water or just to use the toilet."

The findings go on to show that a lack of access to hygiene also disproportionately affects women and girls. In many countries, women and girls are primarily responsible for domestic chores and caring for others – including cleaning, preparing food, and looking after the sick – which likely exposes them to diseases and other risks to their health without the protection of handwashing. Additional time spent on domestic chores can also limit girls’ chances of completing secondary school and gaining employment.?

Today, around 2.2 billion people – or 1 in 4 – still lack safely managed drinking water at home and 3.4 billion people – or 2 in 5 – do not have safely managed sanitation. Around 2 billion people – or 1 in 4 – cannot wash their hands with soap and water at home.

The report notes some progress towards achieving universal access to WASH. Between 2015 and 2022, household access to safely managed drinking water increased from 69 to 73 %; safely managed sanitation increased from 49 to 57 %; and basic hygiene services increased from 67 to 75 %. ?

But achieving the Sustainable Development Goal target for universal access to safely managed drinking water, sanitation, and basic hygiene services by 2030 will require a six-fold increase in current rates of progress for safely managed drinking water, a five-fold increase for safely managed sanitation, and a three-fold increase for basic hygiene services.

Further efforts are needed to ensure that progress on WASH contributes towards gender equality, including integrated gender considerations in WASH programmes and policies and disaggregated data collection and analysis, to inform targeted interventions that address the specific needs of women and girls and other vulnerable groups.

Toilets for peace

This essential space, at the center of our lives, should be safe and secure. But for billions of people, sanitation is under threat from conflict, climate change, disasters and neglect.

‘Safe toilets for all by 2030’ is one of the targets of Sustainable Development Goal 6 – but the world is seriously off track.

Faster action to improve and protect people’s access to sanitation is critical to building a fairer, more peaceful world.?

Toilets under threat

Conflict, extreme weather events and disasters can destroy, damage or disrupt sanitation services.

When toilet systems don’t work – or don’t exist – untreated human waste spreads in the environment, unleashing deadly diseases such as cholera.

Water and sanitation services must be cared for on priority to ensure resilient, effective, access to everyone and shielded from harm.

Key messages we should appreciate on World Toilet Day 2024

1. Toilets are a place for peace. This essential space, at the center of our lives, should be safe and secure. But for billions of people, sanitation is under threat from conflict, climate change, disasters and neglect.
2. Toilets are a place for protection. By creating a barrier between us and our waste, sanitation services are essential for public and environmental health. But when toilet systems are inadequate, damaged or broken, pollution spreads and deadly diseases get unleashed.
3. Toilets are a place for progress. Sanitation is a human right. It protects everyone’s dignity, and especially transforms the lives of women and girls. More investment and better governance of sanitation are critical for a fairer, more peaceful world.

https://unwater.org/sites/default/files/2023-08/UN-WaterSDG6SynthesisReportonWaterandSanitation2023_Executive%20Summary.pdf

Extreme weather events are making water more scarce, more unpredictable, more polluted or all three. These impacts throughout the water cycle threaten sustainable development, biodiversity, and people’s access to water and sanitation.

Flooding and rising sea levels are contaminating land and water resources with saltwater or faecal matter, causing alarming damage to water and sanitation infrastructure, such as waterpoints, wells, toilets and wastewater treatment facilities.

Glaciers, ice caps and snow fields are rapidly disappearing. Meltwater feeds many of the great river systems. Volatility in the cryosphere can affect the regulation of freshwater resources for vast numbers of people in lowland areas.

Droughts and wildfires are destabilizing communities and triggering civil unrest and migration in many areas. Destruction of vegetation and tree cover exacerbates soil erosion and reduces groundwater recharge, increasing water scarcity and food insecurity.

Growing demand for water increases the need for energy-intensive water pumping, transportation, and treatment, and has contributed to the degradation of critical water-dependent carbon sinks such as peatlands. Water-intensive agriculture for food production, particularly meat, and for growing crops used as biofuels, can further exacerbate water scarcity.

Access to safe and clean potable water is the only sustainable way to release pressure on already diminishing natural water sources. The water levels have gone down drastically in all major aquifers around the world. Drinking water has contamination threatening the health of the habitats.

A lot of proactive on the ground action is underway to resolve the crisis but much more is needed as doing nothing is not an option. Alternative sources of water are needed pronto.

The MEGHDOOT AWG REVOLUTION

Water has only one substitute- Water.

Maithri Aquatech,?an organization founded in 2016 under the Make in India initiative, focuses on providing sustainable and eco-friendly clean and pure water solutions to provide millions of people the access to purest potable water available on tap anytime, anywhere.?The company?has now become India's largest producer of water from Atmospheric Humidity using its advanced Air to Water Generators (AWGs) technology. It has aptly been named MEGHDOOT!

There is roughly 2 million trillion liters of water as humidity in our atmosphere and harnessing a mere 1-2% of this would be sufficient to meet the needs of life on this planet. This can be totally decentralized to produce water wherever needed at scale. Besides making any country / city / community water secure - it is certain to create an unprecedented positive impact on the Environment and most other Sustainable Development Goals 2030.

Climate-resilient development is becoming progressively more challenging with every increment of warming. Access to safe and clean potable water is the only sustainable way to release pressure on already diminishing natural water sources.

MEGHDOOT? is a solution which can support institutions by transforming them into water stewards while supporting their Sustainability goals.

· Made in India, for the Planet: MEGHDOOT? is a nature-based solution which mimics the natural water cycle by generating water exclusively from air, with Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD).

· The Best Water, Anywhere and Everywhere: Consistently generates high-quality, microbe-free, mineral enriched potable water meeting WHO and Indian drinking water quality standards anywhere.

· Affordable: One of the most affordable and energy-efficient AWG solutions available globally.

· Dependable: Rains are less predictable due to Climate Change. MEGHDOOT? is a dependable alternative of water which can generate water when needed.

· Scalable: MEGHDOOT? can meet requirements of water from tens to millions of liters everyday.

· Rapid Creation of Water Infrastructure: Solution can be rapidly deployed and redeployed as portable water infrastructure even in the remotest of locations.

MEGHDOOT?- A Resilient Solution for a Sustainable Future

In forging a water-secure future, the production of healthy, pure, mineralized drinking water from the atmosphere via the environment friendly technology of MEGHDOOT? AWG stands as an immediate and accessible solution for communities across diverse sectors throughout the World.

With its minimal yet unmatched infrastructure, the solution serves as the guardian of an uninterrupted water supply , becoming the life blood sustaining existence on planet Earth. In the merger of innovation and sustainability, MEGHDOOT? paves the way for a resilient, water-secure tomorrow.

Already bringing smiles to millions upon million lives across 37 countries, and counting, these natural water solutions are the way forward to reclaim, restore and redevelop our ecosystems!

You have to make the choice right now, a little later might be too late!

www.maithriaqua.com Reimagining Water, Enabling Life

Content Courtesy: United Nations 联合国儿童基金会 World Health Organization Maithri Aquatech