Millions in Latin
America Lack Sanitary
Conditions
Nearly 124 million
people in Latin America
and the Caribbean lack
proper sanitary
conditions at home,
UNICEF (the United
Nations Children's Fund)
revealed.
In a communique to mark
the World Water Day,
coinciding with the
International Year of
Sanitation, the UNICEF
office in Panama said
that about 20,000 people
die in the area every
year due to acute
diarrheic illnesses that
can be prevented through
the access to adequate
hygienic conditions,
sanitary infrastructure
and safe water.
It adds that over 40
percent of children
under five in Latin
America have no adequate
sanitation, with their
families forced to
defecate in the open air
or in poor facilities or
this purpose, depriving
them of their dignity
and exposing them to
multiple dangers,
including illnesses
which can be prevented
and even physical
violence, says UNICEF. |
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