#sanitation

1. More children are surviving today than ever before.

Close to 8 million more children in the world survive to see their fifth birthday than in 1990 — a 60 percent decline in annual under-five child mortality. 

UNICEF and partners have contributed to this remarkable achievement through proven, sustainable solutions for improving maternal and child health care services and strengthening disease prevention — and delivering those solutions at scale...

2. Vaccines have saved 154 million lives in the last 50 years.

As the world’s largest vaccine supplier, UNICEF procures and distributes enough vaccines annually to immunize 45 percent of the world's children. In 2023, UNICEF supplied 2.8 billion vaccine doses to 105 countries, up from just over 2 billion to 102 countries in 2020. Through widespread immunizations, polio is on the brink of eradication.

3. Safe water is available to over 2.1 billion more people compared to 20 years ago.

Consistent access to a sufficient supply of safe water for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene is the foundation for child survival, healthier lives, stronger economies and more sustainable societies. With support from UNICEF and partners, more than a quarter of the world's population gained access to safe and clean drinking water in the past two decades.

UNICEF-supported programs help ensure access to safe water for 35 million people around the world every year. UNICEF also leads coordinated emergency response efforts related to safe water access in roughly 85 percent of countries affected by crises. In 2023, over 42 million people in 73 countries were reached with emergency water services, helping to prevent outbreaks of cholera and other waterborne diseases.

To help build community resilience to climate shocks, UNICEF has also supported the installation of more than 8,900 solar-powered water systems in 56 countries — an important climate adaption measure that also reduces the use of fossil fuels.

4. The number of children with stunted growth due to malnutrition has declined by 40 percent since 2000.

For more than two decades, UNICEF has been the world’s largest procurer of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF), procuring up to 80 percent of global demand, ensuring children suffering from severe malnutrition can be treated successfully.

5. Over 68 million child marriages have been averted in the last 25 years, giving girls their childhoods back.

In the late 1990s, 1 in 4 young women aged 20 to 24 were married as children. Today, it's 1 in 5. UNICEF has played an important role in global efforts to end child marriage, supporting 35 countries in implementing action plans, and working at the community level and across the health, education and other sectors to increase knowledge and change attitudes around the practice.

In 2023, UNICEF reached 11 million adolescent girls with prevention and care interventions empowering them to delay marriage and choose their own futures. 

6. Fewer kids are out of school.

The world stands on the cusp of realizing primary education as a basic right of every child. A world where more children learn is a world that is healthier, more prosperous and more resilient.

In the early 1950s, roughly half of all primary school-aged children were out of school. Now it's less than 10 percent. And every year, 23 million more girls are completing secondary school compared to a decade ago...

7. The world is on track to eliminate open defecation by 2030.

In the last two decades, 2.5 billion people have gained access to safely managed sanitation, while the number of people practicing open defecation has also declined by two-thirds — from 1.3 billion in 2000 to 419 million in 2022 — putting the world on track to eliminate the practice entirely. 

Ending open defecation drastically lowers the risks of diseases and malnutrition among children in low-income and lower-middle-income countries. Child deaths from diarrhea — a leading killer of young children — have already decreased by 60 percent...

8. Birth registration rates are way up.

Today, 77 percent of children under 5 are registered, up from 60 percent in the early 2000s — a major leap towards ensuring every child has a legal identity and can access health, education and other essential services...

Countries that prioritize birth registration see rapid progress. In Côte d’Ivoire, birth registration prevalence rose steadily from 65 percent in 2012 to 96 percent by 2021, proving that change at scale is possible.

9. A future free from HIV seems possible, one baby at a time.

An estimated 1.9 million deaths and 4 million HIV infections have been averted among pregnant women and children in the past 25 years...

10. In times of crisis and emergency, UNICEF is there — helping to save more children's lives than any other humanitarian organization.

[Note: Okay, I think they're cheating listing this one, but the article header said 10 things, so if I included only 9 it would be weird. Obviously this is an article from UNICEF, but UNICEF's data, reporting, and statistics are considered to be of high quality.]

🍲🚮♻️ “Garbage cafes” across India are tackling plastic waste and hunger! In these cafes springing up around the country thanks to a larger sanitation initiative, people can collect and donate plastic litter in exchange for a hot meal. For many, the cafes mean the difference between food and an empty stomach, and they have already had an impact on the amount of plastic waste going to landfill – in one city, landfill-bound plastic waste fell from 5.4 tons per year in 2019 to just two tons per year in 2024!

Medieval Córdoba built a sewer system so advanced it stayed in use for centuries. A new study reveals how the city’s infrastructure, legal oversight, and community cooperation created one of the most sophisticated sanitation systems of the Middle Ages.

Bright and early this morning, I arrived at Headquarters, City Wide Leisure Management inc. Walking into the place it feels like an old jail. The hallways were dark wet and dirty. The training was set in a basement that had been converted into a makeshift classroom. As I stepped inside, I couldn’t help but notice my fellow trainees—most of them were Latino men with rugged, weathered and easy propositions. Their confident chatter in Spanish and the ease with which they carried themselves made me feel even more out of place.

After a brief introduction, we all had our ID pictures taken.

Standing there, I put on my uniform for the first time, acutely aware of the bold “TRAINEE” printed on the back. Every time I caught a glimpse of it in the mirror, a pang of embarrassment shot through me. Here I was, fresh out of college with a degree in environmental science, reduced to wearing a label that felt more like a mark of inadequacy than a stepping stone.

The classroom session was short but intense. We were shown the basics of chemical handling—nothing more than a crash course on how not to harm ourselves while on the job. The lessons were purely procedural, with little to no discussion of the environmental passion that once fueled my studies. I felt like I had been funneled into a world that was entirely detached from what I’d envisioned for my future.

Shortly after our ‘chemical training’ , Tom—the co-owner and instructor—rounded us up and loaded us into a van. Our destination was a graffiti removal site by the riverside. As we drove, the hum of conversation revealed more of the cultural differences between us. While my fellow trainees joked and exchanged tips in rapid Spanish, I struggled to keep up, feeling the weight of a language barrier and my own inexperience.

Once at the site, the real work began. Under the scorching heat, I found myself picking up trash and removing graffiti with a sense of deep embarrassment. Every sweep of the broom reminded me that I was not part of this world, and every call in Spanish I couldn’t understand deepened the isolation I felt. I smelt like shit man, the sun is bright, the uniform tight, when is this training going to end??

By 3p.m., I was released, utterly exhausted and with a heavy realization: im sure NPS park rangers have to do the same things? Whats a little bit of manuel labour. We’ll get through this training one hot disgusting day at a time.