Read the passage and answer the following questions.
In 2019, WHO and UNICEF published the latest figures on clean water and sanitation in the world. The figures were for the year 2017. More than 785 million people did not have even basic water services. The share of people using safely managed drinking water had gone up from 61% in 2000 to 71%. Over 3 billion people used safely managed sanitation services, but 673 million still practised open defecation. About 3 billion people had no proper facilities to wash their hands safely at home. Where schools lack toilets, girls who reach puberty are more likely to miss school than boys.
Millions of people suffer from neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) such as Guinea worm disease, trachoma and schistosomiasis. Many of these diseases are linked to water or hygiene. They are found most often in places with unsafe drinking water, poor sanitation and poor hygiene. Unsafe drinking water contributed to 72% of deaths from diarrhoea, and unsafe sanitation to about 56%.
Water, sanitation and hygiene could prevent at least 9% of the world’s disease burden and 6% of all deaths. In the U.S., money spent on water filtration and chlorination in the first half of the 20th century is estimated to have brought back 23 times its value in public health. Water and sanitation interventions are cost-effective in every region of the world.
The United Nations aims to give every person basic and safely managed water and sanitation by 2030. To meet this goal, an estimated 2.2 billion people still need safely managed drinking water, 4.2 billion need safely managed sanitation and 3 billion need basic handwashing facilities.
Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Money spent on clean water and sanitation saves lives and also pays for itself
The passage says water, sanitation and hygiene could prevent “6% of all deaths”, so they save lives.
- It also says that money spent on filtration in the U.S. “brought back 23 times its value” in public health. So the money spent gives back much more than it costs.
- Together, these two facts give the answer.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: Most people in the world still have no safe drinking water — Incorrect. Contradicted: The share of people using safely managed drinking water rose “from 61% in 2000 to 71%”. So most people do have safe water.
Option 3: Diseases linked to water are a problem only in poor regions of Africa — Incorrect. Not mentioned: The passage names no continent. It says these diseases are found in places with unsafe water and poor sanitation.
Option 4: Girls miss school more often than boys because they fall ill more often — Incorrect. Wrong reason: The passage links this to schools that “lack toilets”. It says nothing about girls falling ill more often.