Sanitation
“Why do 3.4 billion people still lack a safe toilet?”
Root causes (expand to see solutions)
Sanitation is one of the world's most solvable yet most neglected problems, left off budgets and out of conversation even as unsafe waste spreads disease. It falls short in three places:
What's at stake
Untreated waste contaminates the water supply, encouraging cholera and typhoid outbreaks that overwhelm clinics. Repeated infections like these stunt children for life. A lack of equipped school toilets pushes girls out of class once they reach puberty.
The global picture
South Asia
High severity
India has cut open defecation sharply, but only around six in ten Indians have sanitation that meets the safely managed standard.World Bank / JMP, 2024
These are the most acute regions and notable examples; the problem reaches many other countries too.