Water/sanitation gap widening An estimated 2.9 billion people
lack access to adequate sanitation, up from 2.6 billion in 1990.
But access to safe water is improving. Today, almost 800 million
more people can count on safe water supplies than could in 1990.
The number with access increased from 2.5 billion to 3.3
billion. Most governments and communities have placed a higher
priority on safe water, but that in itself is not a panacea for
all ills. Without a stronger commitment to sanitation, it will
be difficult to reduce the incidence of diarrhoea, a leading
child killer, and other diseases that flourish in unsanitary
conditions. Among steps to combat disease and malnutrition, the
Convention on the Rights of the Child calls on countries to
ensure provision of clean drinking water and sanitation (article
24). |A strong commitment to sanitation is essential to reducing
the incidence of diarrhoea, a leading killer of children under
The table below shows the percentage of people with access to
safe drinking water