With every dollar invested in sanitation yielding a significant return in health benefits and economic growth, there has never been a more crucial time to address this issue head-on.
Stockholm, 26th August 2024: Amref Health Africa and Population Services International (PSI) hosted a crucial event today at World Water Week 2024 in Stockholm that focused on the urgent sanitation crisis in sub-Saharan Africa. The event, titled Total Sanitation Movement for Thriving Communities in Africa, brought together leaders and experts to address a challenge that affects 700 million people in the region—60% of the population—who still lack access to basic sanitation services.
This event comes at a critical time as the world faces multiple public health emergencies, including cholera and Mpox outbreaks. Inadequate sanitation not only accelerates the spread of diseases like cholera, which claims up to 143,000 lives globally each year but also leaves communities vulnerable to emerging health threats like Mpox, where limited hygiene infrastructure hampers prevention and control efforts.
“Sanitation is the bedrock of public health, yet millions in sub-Saharan Africa are deprived of this basic right. Our focus is on developing innovative, scalable solutions that can turn the tide on sanitation, safeguarding the health and dignity of millions,” said Dr Githinji Gitahi, the Group CEO of Amref Health Africa.
The devastating effects of climate change further compound these challenges. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), there are clear links between climate change and the spread of sanitation-related diseases. The impact is severe for a continent already grappling with vulnerabilities, limited water and sanitation infrastructure, and climate-induced floods and droughts. Between January 2023 and January 2024, climate change triggered cholera outbreaks in 19 African countries, resulting in over 250,000 cases and 4,187 deaths, with a case fatality rate of 1.6%.
“Progress toward Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6—Clean Water and Sanitation—is significantly off track. With the growing impact of climate change, it is more critical than ever to develop sustainable sanitation markets and prioritise system-based, equitable, and inclusive solutions,” said John Sauer, Deputy Director of WASH at PSI.
The event highlighted discussions on innovative strategies to accelerate access to safely managed sanitation and build sustainable models for infrastructure improvement. Key outcomes included the creation of a strategic action plan and the formation of a collaborative impact group to drive coordinated efforts toward achieving safely managed sanitation for all by 2030.
As the world advances toward the SDGs, particularly Goal 6, there is an urgent need for decisive action. Every dollar invested in sanitation yields substantial returns in health benefits and economic growth, making this issue more pressing than ever before.
Note to Editors
About Amref Health Africa
Amref Health Africa, headquartered in Kenya, is the largest Africa-based international health and development organisation providing training and health services to over 20 million people annually in at least 30 countries in Africa. Amref Health Africa continues to evolve and innovate the approaches to increase sustainable health access among communities.
Amref manages a full range of medical and public health programmes tackling the most critical health challenges facing the continent – including global health emergencies, communicable and no-communicable disease, neglected tropical diseases, maternal and childcare, as well as water, sanitation and climate change. Much of our credibility with local communities and African governments stems from the relationship and trust that we have built over the past 65 years.
About PSI
With more than 50 years of expertise, PSI collaborates directly with customers, communities, governments, businesses, and partners to transform health outcomes together. In the last decade, PSI introduced a market-driven sanitation approach across 13 countries. This work fostered sustainable market and governmental systems, leading to the sale of over 700,000 toilets through local sanitation enterprises. As a result, access to basic sanitation has been extended to over 3 million people.
Media Contacts:
- Erick Achola, Global Communications Manager, Amref Health Africa: [email protected]
- Julia Kenney, Senior Associate Communications, PSI: [email protected]
