Cambodia needs increased investment and commitment to provide its citizens with clean water
More than than six million people in Cambodia lack access to safe water and sanitation, a problem that could threaten the country’s development prospects.
Currently, about 40% of primary schools and 35% of health centres do not have safe drinking water facilities, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) revealed.
Almost four million people without access to clean water are living in poor rural areas.
Children, who account for 41% of the kingdom’s population, are especially vulnerable to water-borne diseases, UNICEF said.
Diarrhoea is the second-leading cause of child deaths under the age of five.
“Attention to rural water supply, sanitation and hygiene will unquestionably deliver results – less child deaths, better learning at school, less disease, more productive workers, less health costs for the people and the system,” said Rana Flowers, the organisation’s country representative.
“These services are central to Cambodia’s future as a middle-income country.”
