posts_gdocs: 16i-Mku4DJyQJTa3q40necGrp7HqyoZHnE4k0GE6en1E
Data license: CC-BY
This data as json
| id | slug | type | content | published | createdAt | publishedAt | updatedAt | publicationContext | revisionId | breadcrumbs | markdown | title |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16i-Mku4DJyQJTa3q40necGrp7HqyoZHnE4k0GE6en1E | hygiene | article | {
"toc": [
{
"slug": "lack-of-access-to-handwashing-facilities-is-a-large-risk-factor-for-death",
"text": "Lack of access to handwashing facilities is a large risk factor for death",
"title": "Lack of access to handwashing facilities is a large risk factor for death",
"supertitle": "",
"isSubheading": false
},
{
"slug": "lack-of-access-to-handwashing-facilities-is-responsible-for-more-than-half-a-million-deaths-each-year",
"text": "Lack of access to handwashing facilities is responsible for more than half a million deaths each year",
"title": "Lack of access to handwashing facilities is responsible for more than half a million deaths each year",
"supertitle": "",
"isSubheading": true
},
{
"slug": "death-rates-are-much-higher-in-low-income-countries",
"text": "Death rates are much higher in low-income countries",
"title": "Death rates are much higher in low-income countries",
"supertitle": "",
"isSubheading": true
},
{
"slug": "access-to-handwashing-facilities",
"text": "Access to handwashing facilities",
"title": "Access to handwashing facilities",
"supertitle": "",
"isSubheading": false
},
{
"slug": "what-share-of-people-do-not-have-access-to-basic-handwashing",
"text": "What share of people do not have access to basic handwashing?",
"title": "What share of people do not have access to basic handwashing?",
"supertitle": "",
"isSubheading": true
}
],
"body": [
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "Having access to basic handwashing facilities is important to reduce the spread of infectious diseases and pathogens.",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "However, more than 20% of the world\u2019s population does not have access to basic handwashing facilities. That is, handwashing facilities with soap and water.",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "This is a major health risk. Lack of access to basic hygiene facilities is responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths each year.",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "In this article, we give an overview of global and national data on access to basic hygiene facilities and its impact on health outcomes.",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"text": [
{
"text": "Lack of access to handwashing facilities is a large risk factor for death",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"type": "heading",
"level": 2,
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"text": [
{
"text": "Lack of access to handwashing facilities is responsible for more than half a million deaths each year",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"type": "heading",
"level": 3,
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "Having no access to basic handwashing facilities is a large health and environmental problem \u2013 particularly for the ",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
},
{
"url": "https://ourworldindata.org/extreme-poverty",
"children": [
{
"text": "poorest in the world",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"spanType": "span-link"
},
{
"text": ".",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "The ",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
},
{
"children": [
{
"url": "https://www.healthdata.org/research-analysis/gbd",
"children": [
{
"text": "Global Burden of Disease",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"spanType": "span-link"
}
],
"spanType": "span-italic"
},
{
"text": " is a major global study on the causes and risk factors for death and disease published in the medical journal ",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
},
{
"children": [
{
"text": "The Lancet",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"spanType": "span-italic"
},
{
"text": ".",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "These estimates of the annual number of deaths attributed to a wide range of risk factors are shown here.",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "In the chart, we see that it ranks as a very important risk factor for death globally.",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "According to the ",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
},
{
"children": [
{
"text": "Global Burden of Disease",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"spanType": "span-italic"
},
{
"text": " study, more than half a million people die as a result of having no access to handwashing facilities every year. To put this into context, this is more than the ",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
},
{
"url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-number-of-deaths-by-cause",
"children": [
{
"text": "number of homicides",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"spanType": "span-link"
},
{
"text": ".",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/number-of-deaths-by-risk-factor",
"type": "chart",
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"text": [
{
"text": "Death rates are much higher in low-income countries",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"type": "heading",
"level": 3,
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "Death rates from a lack of access to handwashing facilities give us an accurate comparison of differences in mortality impacts between countries and over time.",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "In this map, we see death rates from having no access to handwashing facilities across the world. Death rates measure the number of deaths per 100,000 people in a given country or region.",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "What becomes clear is the large differences in death rates between countries: rates are high in lower-income countries, particularly across Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "The issue of handwashing access is one that is ",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
},
{
"url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/death-rates-no-handwashing?tab=chart",
"children": [
{
"text": "largely limited to low- and lower-middle-income countries",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"spanType": "span-link"
},
{
"text": ".",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/death-rates-no-handwashing?tab=map",
"type": "chart",
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"text": [
{
"text": "Access to handwashing facilities",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"type": "heading",
"level": 2,
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"text": [
{
"text": "What share of people do not have access to basic handwashing?",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"type": "heading",
"level": 3,
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "Approximately one-third of the world does not have access to basic handwashing facilities.",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "Hygiene and handwashing are included in",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
},
{
"children": [
{
"text": " ",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"spanType": "span-bold"
},
{
"url": "https://ourworldindata.org/sdgs/clean-water-sanitation#target-6-2-end-open-defecation-and-provide-access-to-sanitation-and-hygiene",
"children": [
{
"text": "SDG Target 6.2",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"spanType": "span-link"
},
{
"text": ", to: \u201cachieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation\u201d by 2030.",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"children": [
{
"text": "I",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"spanType": "span-bold"
},
{
"text": "n recent years, around three-quarters of the world's population has had access to ",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
},
{
"url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-of-the-population-with-access-to-handwashing-facilities",
"children": [
{
"text": "basic handwashing facilities",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"spanType": "span-link"
},
{
"text": ". That means about one-quarter had to rely on washing facilities without soap and/or water or no handwashing facilities at all.",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-of-the-population-with-access-to-handwashing-facilities",
"type": "chart",
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "In the map, we see the share of people across the world who have access to basic handwashing facilities. In countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, typically, less than half of the population has access to facilities with soap and water.",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/proportion-of-population-with-basic-handwashing-facilities-on-premises?tab=map",
"type": "chart",
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "The world is making progress on this problem. Access to basic handwashing facilities has gradually been increasing for the global population. But to achieve universal handwashing by 2030, this progress needs to go much faster.",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/proportion-of-population-with-basic-handwashing-facilities-on-premises?tab=chart&country=~OWID_WRL",
"type": "chart",
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "How many people do not have access to basic handwashing?",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"type": "text",
"value": [
{
"text": "In the map shown, we see the number of people across the world who ",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
},
{
"children": [
{
"text": "do not",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"spanType": "span-italic"
},
{
"text": " have access to basic handwashing facilities.",
"spanType": "span-simple-text"
}
],
"parseErrors": []
},
{
"url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/number-without-basic-handwashing",
"type": "chart",
"parseErrors": []
}
],
"refs": {
"errors": [],
"definitions": {}
},
"type": "article",
"title": "Hygiene and Handwashing",
"authors": [
"Hannah Ritchie",
"Fiona Spooner",
"Max Roser"
],
"excerpt": "How many people lack access to basic handwashing facilities?",
"dateline": "This article was first published in July 2021. It was revised in January 2024.",
"subtitle": "How many people lack access to basic handwashing facilities?",
"featured-image": "hygiene-thumbnail.png"
} |
1 | 2023-09-29 09:32:35 | 2021-07-01 05:30:00 | 2024-01-16 13:43:32 | unlisted | ALBJ4LuZDEvMaYtPH3yK3sMi6FbpilgylWSifZV2EAKbP5zOQLOPJAL9XtRFxpk4Joi24tKRAipDJ8qycxo-WQ | [
{
"href": "/clean-water-sanitation",
"label": "Clean Water and Sanitation"
},
{
"label": "Hygiene"
}
] |
Having access to basic handwashing facilities is important to reduce the spread of infectious diseases and pathogens. However, more than 20% of the world’s population does not have access to basic handwashing facilities. That is, handwashing facilities with soap and water. This is a major health risk. Lack of access to basic hygiene facilities is responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths each year. In this article, we give an overview of global and national data on access to basic hygiene facilities and its impact on health outcomes. ## Lack of access to handwashing facilities is a large risk factor for death ### Lack of access to handwashing facilities is responsible for more than half a million deaths each year Having no access to basic handwashing facilities is a large health and environmental problem – particularly for the [poorest in the world](https://ourworldindata.org/extreme-poverty). The _[Global Burden of Disease](https://www.healthdata.org/research-analysis/gbd)_ is a major global study on the causes and risk factors for death and disease published in the medical journal _The Lancet_. These estimates of the annual number of deaths attributed to a wide range of risk factors are shown here. In the chart, we see that it ranks as a very important risk factor for death globally. According to the _Global Burden of Disease_ study, more than half a million people die as a result of having no access to handwashing facilities every year. To put this into context, this is more than the [number of homicides](https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-number-of-deaths-by-cause). <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/number-of-deaths-by-risk-factor"/> ### Death rates are much higher in low-income countries Death rates from a lack of access to handwashing facilities give us an accurate comparison of differences in mortality impacts between countries and over time. In this map, we see death rates from having no access to handwashing facilities across the world. Death rates measure the number of deaths per 100,000 people in a given country or region. What becomes clear is the large differences in death rates between countries: rates are high in lower-income countries, particularly across Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. The issue of handwashing access is one that is [largely limited to low- and lower-middle-income countries](https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/death-rates-no-handwashing?tab=chart). <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/death-rates-no-handwashing?tab=map"/> ## Access to handwashing facilities ### What share of people do not have access to basic handwashing? Approximately one-third of the world does not have access to basic handwashing facilities. Hygiene and handwashing are included in** **[SDG Target 6.2](https://ourworldindata.org/sdgs/clean-water-sanitation#target-6-2-end-open-defecation-and-provide-access-to-sanitation-and-hygiene), to: “achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation” by 2030. **I**n recent years, around three-quarters of the world's population has had access to [basic handwashing facilities](https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-of-the-population-with-access-to-handwashing-facilities). That means about one-quarter had to rely on washing facilities without soap and/or water or no handwashing facilities at all. <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-of-the-population-with-access-to-handwashing-facilities"/> In the map, we see the share of people across the world who have access to basic handwashing facilities. In countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, typically, less than half of the population has access to facilities with soap and water. <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/proportion-of-population-with-basic-handwashing-facilities-on-premises?tab=map"/> The world is making progress on this problem. Access to basic handwashing facilities has gradually been increasing for the global population. But to achieve universal handwashing by 2030, this progress needs to go much faster. <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/proportion-of-population-with-basic-handwashing-facilities-on-premises?tab=chart&country=~OWID_WRL"/> How many people do not have access to basic handwashing? In the map shown, we see the number of people across the world who _do not_ have access to basic handwashing facilities. <Chart url="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/number-without-basic-handwashing"/> | Hygiene and Handwashing |