Improve sanitation to combat impact of climate change: WaterAid

Even in 2020, one in four people around the world does not have a toilet. For Bangladesh, while 48 percent of the population has access to basic sanitation facilities, the rest only have access to limited and unimproved sanitation, a WaterAid Global Report has found.

The global charity organisation released the report to mark the "World Toilet Day 2020" yesterday. 

The report -- titled 'Living in a fragile world: The impact of climate change on the sanitation crisis' -- highlights the link between poor sanitation and the transmission of fatal but preventable illnesses, and examines how these are compounded by the effects of climate change, a press release said.

Tim Wainwright, Chief Executive, WaterAid UK, said "WaterAid's report shows that climate change has intensified the sanitation crisis, with increasingly frequent and extreme weather events destroying toilets and sanitation systems, putting the health and lives of millions of people around the world at risk."

According to the report, Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world when it comes to the impact of climate change. Two-thirds of Bangladesh sits less than five metres above sea level, leaving these areas highly susceptible to river and tidal flooding. Draught, rising sea levels and cyclones also significantly impact access to clean water.

A lack of clean water, decent toilets, and hygiene claim the lives of around 800 children under five every day. In total, around 829,000 lives are lost due to this problem every year.

However, these deaths fail to reach the headlines, in part because they predominately occur in poorer communities, the document says.

In light of this, WaterAid demands urgent action from governments and the international community to increase investment in sanitation services.

The international charity is encouraging governments to include ambitious sanitation plans in their climate change adaptation strategies, so communities are better prepared to withstand the impacts of climate change.

Calling for a collective effort, Hasin Jahan, Country Director of WaterAid Bangladesh said, "To tackle the issue, we need more national and international investment in the WASH sector focusing on climate adaptation projects."