In a bid to save lives and improve the quality of life for millions of people in the world, Japanese companies have worked over the years to improve poor sanitation in developing countries.
A recent report by the World Health Organization and UNICEF estimated that 2.4 billion people are still without sanitation facilities in 2015, including 946 million — about one in eight of the world's population — who defecate in the open. In particular, the report warned that the lack of progress on sanitation threatens to severely undermine the survival of children.
According to UNICEF, children under five years old suffer 1.7 billion cases of diarrhea every year and about 300,000 of those — more than 800 per day — die from diarrheal diseases linked to inadequate sanitation, hygiene and water.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.