Africa: Changing sanitation patterns in Africa

The supply of water is often said to be this century’s greatest challenge, and with good reason. However, in many parts of the world it is the lack of adequate sanitation and safe hygiene practices that remain the most ubiquitous threat to people’s health. Addressing this offers the chance to bring fundamental change to the lives of billions. This is no truer than in Sub-Saharan Africa where only 31 per cent of people have access to improved sanitation facilities, a number that falls to 24 per cent in rural areas.