UNICEF, WHO reports women, girls faces water, sanitation crisis globally

Anjali Sharma

GG News Bureau

UNITED NATIONS, 7th July. UNICEF and the World Health Organization on Thursday published a new report stating that women and girls are primarily responsible for water collection in 7 out of 10 households that lack supply.

The study provides the first in-depth analysis of gender inequalities in drinking water, sanitation and hygiene in households, revealing that women and girls bear the brunt of the global water and sanitation crisis.

The report said 2.2 billion people still do not have safely managed drinking water at home, and some 3.4 billion do not have access to safe sanitation globally.

Over 2 billion people cannot wash their hands with soap and water at home, it reported.

The report found that women are most likely to be responsible for fetching water for households, and girls are nearly twice as likely as boys.

Women and girls make longer journeys to fetch water, causing them to lose out on education, work, and leisure time. They face risk of physical injury and dangers on the way.

Cecilia Sharp, UNICEF Director of WASH and CEED, which refers to the agency’s work in climate, energy, environment and disaster risk reduction said “Every step a girl takes to collect water is a step away from learning, play, and safety.”.

“Unsafe water, toilets, and handwashing at home robs girls of their potential, compromises their well-being, and perpetuates cycles of poverty,” she added.

According to the report, two billion people worldwide live in households without water supplies on the premises.

Most households, seven out of 10, women and girls aged 15 and older are mainly responsible for fetching water, compared to men and boys, the report stated

It stressed that women and girls also are more likely to feel unsafe using a toilet outside the home, and disproportionately suffer the impact of lack of hygiene.

Over half a billion people worldwide also still share sanitation facilities with other households, compromising women’s and girls’ privacy, dignity, and safety.

According to recent surveys from 22 countries showed that 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.

Inadequate WASH services increase health risks for women and girls and limit their ability to safely and privately manage their periods, the report said.

Dr. Maria Neira, Director of WHO Environment, Climate Change and Health Department, noted that 1.4 million people die each year due to inadequate access to water, sanitation and hygiene.

“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,” she said.

The report highlighted global progress to ensure people everywhere have access to WASH services.

It added that between 2015 and 2022, household access to safely managed drinking water increased from 69 per cent to 73 per cent.

It also said safely managed sanitation increased from 49 per cent to 57 per cent; and basic hygiene services rose from 67 per cent to 75 per cent.

UN agencies warned that greater efforts are needed to achieve the SDG target for universal access to safely managed WASH services by 2030.

They concluded that more action is required to ensure that progress towards gender equality.