Tagged: Water, sanitation and hygiene

Boy washes his hands at a sink outside a public toilet building painting with informational messages on sanitation and handwashing

Why toilets matter

Experts speak

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It has been more than 160 years since the link between sewage-polluted drinking water and cholera was first established. And yet from December 2014 to August 2016, more than 17,000 people were hospitalized due to cholera in Kenya. It is a stark reminder that inequalities persist, and that sanitation and clean drinking water are still of… Read more →←
Woman standing on balcony holding a baby; they look at each other

Living without a toilet: more common than you think

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Story also available in: Español
In the Onga Zanga zone, in the province of Luanda, the colonial-style house where Maria Laurinda lives does not have the charm it once had, and is in terrible condition. Maria and her six children have well water throughout the year, but she still remembers the time before the Government installed the water pump. Before, they had no… Read more →←
Children at a long trough of water wash their hands.

5 facts about hands, water, soap and poop!

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Story also available in: Français
Would you eat food from a toilet seat? Nope! Why not? Because not only is it disgusting, it can lead to all sorts of diseases. When germs from our poop get on our hands, we’re in trouble. Even worse, if we don’t wash our hands then germs can go from our hands, onto the food we’re going to eat, into our mouths, into our systems and… Read more →←
A girl washing her hands

One hand washes the other…for better health

Experts speak

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Story also available in: العربية Español Français
The practice of hand washing is simple, so simple it sometimes goes unnoticed. Maybe it’s because it has rarely crosses people’s minds that our hands can serve as a reservoir for numerous microorganisms. They can be transmitted by direct contact with contaminated skin or objects, and through surfaces from contaminated environments,… Read more →←
Smiling boy stands in front of a building

Fighting cholera in Haiti after Hurricane Matthew

Children in emergencies

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Seven hours on the road, or rather on a rocky trail that renders one grateful for a solid back and stomach, to Pestel. All along our way to the town, one of the areas where a significant increase in diarrhea cases has been registered over the past week, we pass destroyed houses and trees. People in front of their homes, stranded. Some… Read more →←

A new day in Qayyarah, Iraq

Children in emergencies

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Story also available in: العربية Español
The Iraqi army retook control of Qayyarah from armed groups on August 28. A day later, UNICEF took part in a mission to assess the needs of families living there. It’s the first time in two years that the United Nations has reached a town that’s been under the control of armed groups.  There are 15,000 people in Qayyarah, as well… Read more →←
A boy with a jerry can in a town square.

Keeping water flowing in Aleppo

Children in emergencies

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Story also available in: العربية Español
Meet Maher. Maher is in Syria and for almost two years he has led UNICEF’s water, sanitation and hygiene work in Aleppo. The lives of millions of people in Aleppo and beyond depend on him and his team. This week, we sat down with Maher and asked him what it’s like to work in Aleppo and to provide water and sanitation in a city under… Read more →←
A young girl with her chin in her hand looks at the camera.

Be a Thinker

Impact

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Story also available in: Español Français
What does a toilet mean to you? On 19 November for World Toilet Day, think about what it would be like if you didn’t have a toilet and had to go out in the open. Think about the 1 in every 8 people who don’t use a toilet and who go out in fields, in the bushes or on the side of the street. Think about the 800 of children who die… Read more →←
Kadiatu Konteh (left), an Ebola Survivor, delivers water, supplied by UNICEF, for villagers under Ebola quarantine

Ebola survivors deliver water as Sierra Leone pushes to zero

Children in emergencies

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Story also available in: Español Français
Quarantining an entire community to stamp out a new case of Ebola requires a complex operation to reduce the strain for residents who suddenly find themselves behind an orange plastic barrier. And in rural Sierra Leone there are additional challenges – in normal times food is often bought on a day-to-day basis from a nearby market,… Read more →←

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