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Reports
Friday, 29-September-2006
(voanews)- - The U.N. Children's Fund says more than 1.2 billion people have gained access to safe water since 1990. By any measure, this progress is impressive, but UNICEF says more is needed to prevent 5,000 children dying from diarrhea every day. What is killing them, it says, is lack of safe drinking water and basic sanitation.

The UNICEF report shows between 1990 and 2004, global coverage of safe drinking water rose from 78 percent to 83 percent. But during the same period, it finds global coverage of basic sanitation only rose from 49 to 59 percent.

The head of UNICEF's Sanitation Programs, Paul Sherlock, says people place a higher value on good water than on sanitation and this is a major stumbling block to good health.

"I think everybody sees the need for water and local communities are prepared to, in many cases, even contribute something towards water supply," he said. "People do not see quite the relevance of sanitation, for example, in hygiene, even though I think professionally now, we realize that the real barriers of disease are in the sanitation and hygiene sector. To very poor families in many parts of Africa, economically, sanitation does not make sense because they do not see the relevance of having to put that sort of effort into the sanitation side."

UNICEF says bad water and sanitation have a negative impact on a country's social and economic well being. It says sick people are unproductive and this affects a nation's development prospects.

It says water and sanitation are key to reducing the death rate in mothers and their children, reducing poor nutrition in children and achieving universal primary education. It says girls, especially, are likely to go to school if they do not have to fetch water and if there are good sanitation facilities available.

The report says Latin America and the Caribbean and the South Asia regions will meet the drinking water target almost 10 years early. But, it says many countries in South Asia are unlikely to meet the goal of increasing access to basic sanitation.

A UNICEF spokesman, Michael Bociurkiw, says Africa lags behind on both scores.

"West and Central Africa ranks lowest in the world for access to improved drinking water and sanitation and that is linked, of course, to the region's under five mortality rate which is the highest in the world. And, then, in eastern and southern Africa, the situation is not great either. It suffers from some of the lowest water and sanitation coverage in the world as well as the second highest rated under five mortality rates," said Bociurkiw.

The report makes clear that armed conflict impedes efforts to improve water and sanitation and in some cases has forced the clock back on progress in these areas. For example, it notes coverage for drinking water and sanitation in Iraq has declined by about 25 percent and many child deaths are linked to water-related diseases.

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Tuesday, 17-October-2017
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Tuesday, 17-October-2017
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Tuesday, 17-October-2017
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Meanwhile, dozens of Saudi-paid mercenaries were killed and others injured in Wadi al-Theek in the district, the official added.
Monday, 16-October-2017
The army and popular forces carried out on Monday unique military operations in Taiz province.

A military official said that a number of Saudi-paid mercenaries were killed at the hands of the army and popular forces in al-Jazami Hill in al-Kadaha area in al-Ma'afer district.
Monday, 16-October-2017
A Saudi aggression fighter jet targeted a citizen's car driving in Fara area of Kutaf district in Saada province overnight, killing the driver and injuring his friend, a security official said on Monday.
Monday, 16-October-2017
The army artillery and popular committees launched a fierce attack on Saudi-paid mercenaries' sites in Jawf province, a military official said on Monday.

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Sunday, 15-October-2017
Scores of Saudi enemy soldiers were killed and injured on Sunday when the army and popular forces repelled a Saudi military attempt to sneak into Shurfah site in the border province of Najran, a military official said.

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Sunday, 15-October-2017
The army and popular committees have killed a total of 18 Saudi-paid mercenaries in sniper operations over the past hours in the central province of Marib, a military official said on Sunday.

Ten mercenaries were killed in Nehm district and eight others were killed in Serwah district, said the official.
Saturday, 14-October-2017
Saudi aggression warplanes have launched more than 49 airstrikes over the past hours on several residential areas across Yemen, a security official said on Sunday.
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Thursday, 12-October-2017
The army and popular forces carried out an operation attack on Saudi-paid mercenaries' sites in al-Hawal area in Nehm district.

A local official said that the operation attack resulted in killing and injuring mercenaries, adding they also incurred heavy losses at their ranks

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