(MENAFN- QNA) A United Nations report released Tuesday said that one in three people worldwide - or 2.4 billion people - lack sanitation facilities, including 946 million people who defecate in the open.
The Progress on Sanitation and Drinking Water report, jointly compiled by UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO), found that seven out of 10 people do not have access to improved sanitation and nine out of 10 people defecate in the open in rural areas.
The worldwide figure is still staggering despite major achievements in the areas of sanitation and safe drinking water, the report said.
Some 2.6 billion people have gained access to clean drinking water and another 2.1 billion people have gained access to improved sanitation since 1990, the report said.
"Today, fewer than 1,000 children under 5 die each day from diarrhoea caused by inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene, compared to over 2,000 15 years ago," it said.
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