Six of the world’s seven billion people have mobile phones – but only 4.5 billion have a toilet, according to a U.N. report. The shocking statistic has prompted the international organisation to launch a global campaign to improve sanitation for the 2.5 billion people whose health is at risk.
U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson called their plight ‘a silent disaster’ that reflects the extreme poverty and huge inequalities in the world today. Eliasson told a press conference that the issue must be addressed immediately for the world to meet the U.N. goal of halving the proportion of people without access to sanitation by the end of 2015.
World leaders set a series of Millennium Development Goals to combat poverty at a summit in 2000, and Eliasson said the sanitation goal lags farthest behind. While most people don’t want to talk about the problem, Eliasson said, ‘it goes to the heart of ensuring good health, a clean environment and fundamental dignity for billions of people
I – Word Understanding
Shocking statistic – unbelievable rate
Prompted – to take a course of action
Improve sanitation – to develop the public health
Extreme poverty – highest degree of poorness
Huge inequalities – being so unfair
Halving – divide into two parts
Proportion – percentage or number
Combat – take action to reduce
Lags farthest – fall into greatest distance
Fundamental dignity – base of being worthy of honor or respect
II – Have your say
1.Top 5 Cleanest Cities in the World
a) Calgary, Canada
b) Honolulu, Hawaii
c) Ottawa, Canada
d) Helsinki, Finland
e) Minneapolis, USA
2.”In the Philippines, there’s still about 30% of the population that don’t have access to sanitary toilets. That is approximately 26 million people. Can you imagine that?
