Washington, D.C. - Eighteen African countries, the equivalent of 554 million people--half of Africa's population, lose around US$5.5 billion every year due to poor sanitation, a World Bank Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) report stated yesterday.
The majority of these costs to production come from annual premature deaths, including children under the age of 5, due to diarrheal disease. Nearly 90% of these deaths are directly attributable to poor water, sanitation, and hygiene. Other significant costs were productivity losses from poor sanitation, and time lost through the practice of open defecation.
Introduction to low-cost sanitation is one of CAWST's core training workshops and we are committed to reducing this excessive number of unnecessary deaths, leading to a healthier and wealthier society. Find training opportunities on our calendar of events or contact one of our International Technical Advisors.
The United Nations (UN) 