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Two years into global pandemic the world has failed to invest in basics to prevent future outbreaks – WaterAid

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SURVEY - Majority of Brits believe safe water and sanitation in poorest places are key to COVID-19 recovery and fighting future pandemics

Two years to the day since the coronavirus outbreak was declared a global pandemic, governments and other leading donors have desperately failed to truly invest in basic facilities to help prevent future pandemics, WaterAid warned today.

With safe water, handwashing facilities and toilets in schools, health facilities and public places still being grossly underfunded and drug resistant infections killing hundreds of thousands of people a year, funding of these basic but life-saving facilities is urgently needed, the organisation said.

The majority of Britons agree that providing clean water, handwashing facilities and toilets in public places in the world's poorest countries is key to COVID-19 recovery and future pandemic preparedness, according to a survey out today.

The WaterAid poll found three in five people agree clean water and sanitation in hospitals, schools and other public places in poorer communities across the globe is vital for pandemic preparedness.

A similar number (59%) said it is the duty of rich countries like the UK to help poorer nations secure these services.

Of those questioned by Opinium on behalf of the charity, 57% said the Government should advocate for improvements in handwashing and sanitation facilities during international talks in order to help prevent future pandemics.

WaterAid is urging Prime Minister Boris Johnson to put clean water and sanitation - at the core of future pandemic preparedness plans when he meets world leaders at June's G7 summit in Germany, in a bid to save lives.

The organisation wants the G7 to commit to significant annual investments until 2030 to help bridge the financing gap in 46 poorer countries. WaterAid is urging the UK government to lead this action towards ensuring universal access to water, sanitation and hygiene in healthcare facilities in the least developed countries.

WaterAid Senior Policy Analyst, Megan Wilson Jones, said:

A health centre without clean water and soap simply cannot be healthy.* This shouldn't be the reality anywhere but lives are lost because of it. Handwashing is a core defence against future pandemics and emerging health threats like drug resistant infections but we need to act now before the next pandemic is upon us."*

"The UK Government and others must do more to help save lives by investing in water, sanitation and hygiene in public places in the poorest countries to boost pandemic preparedness and contribute to stopping the spread of diseases.

According to UNICEF and WHO, in 2019 nearly half of all healthcare facilities in the world's least developed countries didn't have basic water services despite the impact water, sanitation and hygiene has on slowing the spread of disease.

And approximately 290,000 children under five die every year from diarrhoeal diseases caused by poor water and sanitation.[1]

The COVID-19 pandemic has fuelled calls among healthcare professionals and charities for clean water and sanitation to be improved in many low-and-middle-income countries.

A recent article published in The Lancet estimated about 1.27 million people died from drug resistant infections caused by bacteria in 2019 - clean water, sanitation and good hygiene (WASH) are critical to prevent and control the spread of these drug resistant infections.

ENDS

For more information, please contact:

In London: pressoffice@wateraid.org or call our after-hours press line on +44 (0)7887 521 552

Notes to Editors:

The online poll was conducted by Opinium between the 3rd and 8th December 2021 with a sample size of 2,000 UK adults, weighted to be nationally representative. Results attached to this press release.

WaterAid

WaterAid is working to make clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene normal for everyone, everywhere within a generation. The international not-for-profit organisation works in 28 countries to change the lives of the poorest and most marginalised people. Since 1981, WaterAid has reached 28 million people with clean water and nearly 29 million people with decent toilets. For more information, visit www.wateraid.org, follow @WaterAidUK or @WaterAidPress on Twitter, or find WaterAid UK on Facebook at www.facebook.com/wateraid.

  • 771 million people in the world -- one in ten -- do not have clean water close to home.[2]
  • 1.7 billion people in the world -- more than one in five -- do not have a decent toilet of their own.[3]
  • Around 290,000 children under five die every year from diarrhoeal diseases caused by poor water and sanitation. That's more than 800 children a day, or one child every two minutes.[4]
  • Every £1 invested in water and toilets returns an average of £4 in increased productivity.[5]
  • Just £15 can provide one person with clean water.[6]