Sanitation infrastructure by the private sector

With over a billion people worldwide and two thirds of the population of African countries still lacking adequate means of excreta disposal as we approach the millennium, the need to provide adequate sanitation in developing countries has never been greater. Hundreds of thousands of African children die annually from diseases attributed to unsafe water and poor sanitation. Poor people, often living on the fringe of urban conurbations, suffer disproportionately than other sectors of society as they lack the resources to improve their living conditions. Although significant advances were made during the International Drinking Water and Sanitation Decade (1980-90) it appears that progress regarding access to adequate sanitation has stagnated since then, and amazingly even more people do not have adequate means of faecal disposal now than in 1990 due to population growth rates averaging 3 per cent in many countries of the South. Africa in particular has had difficulty in holding onto the gains of the past. The situation is compounded by the fact that Africa receives less of a share of international development assistance than it did in 1990.