The United Nations General Assembly declares 2008 the International Year of Sanitation. This declaration will assist progress on one of the eight Millennium Development Goals that aims to provide sanitation infrastructure to half of all people in the world without such by 2015. Several UN partners are supporting this measure including UNICEF, UNEP, UNDESA, UNDP, UN-Habitat, UN-Water, to name a few.
Over 40% of people (2.6 billion and almost one million children) throughout the world do not have adequate sanitation facilities, such as bathrooms or ample water supplies. Frequently, deaths occur because deficient sanitation often encourages the spreading of illnesses such as diarrhea, cholera, worms, pneumonia, and malnutrition.
Check the UN web-site for more information on International Year of Sanitation projects.
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