“Three Billion People” Lack Access to Water and Soap at Home
While the global COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the significant role of handwashing with water and soap in preventing disease transmission, the World Health Organization has reminded that 40 percent of the world’s population lacks access to water and soap at home.
In Iran, statistics also show that many rural residents still lack connection to the sanitary water network.
The Director-General of the World Health Organization stated on April 5 that three billion people still lack access to clean water and soap in their homes. Additionally, fewer than two-thirds of health and medical facilities are equipped with sanitation stations.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, on the eve of “Global Handwashing Day,” said that investment in soap production, access to water and alcoholic solutions, particularly in current conditions and amid the crisis caused by the spread of the new coronavirus, should be increased specifically.
Of course, the lack of access to water supply facilities and soap is not a new issue. In late March, while the coronavirus was spreading worldwide, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) stated that of every five people on Earth, three have access to basic washing equipment.
UNICEF, emphasizing the importance of handwashing to combat the virus, says that approximately half of the world’s schools lack basic handwashing facilities.
Iran’s official statistics indicate that most cities have access to water supply networks, but official statistics from rural areas present a completely different situation.
In 2018, Iran’s Water and Wastewater Company announced that 60,000 villages with a total population of 21 million have settlement codes. Iran’s rural population in 2016 was around 20 million.
Officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran say that until 2014, approximately 900,000 of the country’s rural population had access to safe water. According to the Ministry of Energy under Hassan Rouhani’s government, this figure reached six million people by late 2019.
Radio Farda alone is unable to verify or refute the official statistics presented in Iran. Government statistics indicate that two-thirds of the rural population and 50,000 villages in Iran still lack access to sanitary water.
Water and soap are considered among the most important tools currently available to combat the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.
The coronavirus can remain active outside the body for hours and in some cases days. Soaps, which contain salts and fatty acids, help wash away fats and consequently cleanliness due to their emulsifying properties and molecular structure.
Most contaminants are composed of fatty and oily compounds, including fats that surround some viruses.
When we touch a virus-contaminated surface, the virus can reach our hands and ultimately enter the body through the mouth, nose, or eyes.
Source: Radio Farda
