Lack of access to sanitation comes at a heavy price. In 2015 that price amounted to $222.9 billion for the global economy. In Africa the figure sits at $19.3 billion.

This is according to a new report released today by the LIXIL Group, published in collaboration with WaterAid and Oxford Economics. The report, which conducted economic modelling to develop up-to-date estimations of the global cost of poor sanitation, brings to light the high economic burden in low-income and lower-middle income countries.

The $222.9 billion cost to the global economy is up 22% from 2010 when it sat at $182.5 billion.

 

Developing nations hit hardest

More than half (55%) of all costs of poor sanitation are a consequence of premature deaths, rising to 75% in Africa, says the report. A further quarter are due to treating related diseases, and other costs are related to lower productivity as a result of illnesses and time lost due to lack of access to a private toilet.

Regionally, in terms of total US dollar value, the economic burden of poor sanitation is heaviest in Asia Pacific, which is accountable for a cost of $ 172.3 billion – over three quarters of the total amount.

Latin America and the Caribbean, and Africa account for approximately 10% of the global cost each. On a national level, in terms of total cost, India suffers by far the most, with $106.7 billion wiped off GDP in 2015, almost half of the total global losses, and 5.2% of the nation’s GDP.

The research underlines the terrible toll poor sanitation is taking in Africa, where the costs stood at $19.3 billion in 2015, an increase of 24.5% from $15.5 billion in 2010. These costs were equivalent to 0.9% of GDP, higher than the global (ex-India) average. In terms of cost as a share of GDP, the top 10 most impacted countries were concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

“Poor sanitation represents not only a human tragedy but a huge economic burden on already hard-pressed countries…. while Africans overall are certainly healthier than 15 years ago, poor sanitation remains a major barrier to development. Only shared and sustained investment in sanitation will deliver the future that Africans deserve and demand,” said LIXIL Group President and CEO Kinya Seto

The report identifies three priority areas that will be key in ensuring sustainable sanitation solutions for all:

• Innovative solutions: sanitation systems in the developed world require vast amounts of land, energy, and water. They are expensive to build, maintain and operate. Innovation is key to solving the sanitation crisis.

• Political will and action: the Millennium Development Goal for sanitation was the most off track. Governments should commit to a national strategy on sanitation to meet the target set out in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG6).

• Cross-sector collaboration: Providing sanitation solutions for low income consumers is a complex challenge. It is important to build partnerships across public and private sectors and civil society. Knowledge sharing, new technologies and innovation in delivery models are needed to address the sanitation challenge.