UN warns of threat of infections to 1.8 billion people
The World Health Organization and the UN Children's Fund have warned that 1.8 billion people in the world are at increased risk of contracting coronavirus and other infections due to lack of water in medical facilities, reports TASS.
According to the WHO and UNICEF, one in four medical facilities in the world lacks water supplies, and one in three does not have hand hygiene.
“About 1.8 billion people are at increased risk of contracting COVID-19 and other diseases because they use or work in health care facilities that lack basic water services,” the report said.
It notes that water supply, sanitation and hygiene are fundamental in the fight against coronavirus. The situation is most dire in the world's 47 least developed countries.
Earlier, the director of the UN World Food Program (WFP), David Beasley, said that in 2021 the world is at risk of facing the worst humanitarian crisis in 75 years.
The United Nations said that 16 countries in Africa and the Middle East were on the verge of mass starvation. UN experts noted that “hot spots” are the regions of Burkina Faso, northeastern Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen.
