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Hygiene
Global goals
In September 2015, world leaders met at the United
Nations and made a commitment to achieve 17 Sustainable
Development Goals over the next 15 years. Collectively,
these goals aim to end poverty, fight inequality and protect
our natural environment.
Goal 6 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),
aims to “ensure availability and sustainable management
of water and sanitation for all”. UNICEF works within
the framework of the new development agenda to support
governments in achieving these goals.
Target 6.3: By 2030, improve water quality by reducing
pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of
hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion
of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing
recycling and safe reuse globally
Cholera Hitches a Ride On The Backs Of
Soft-Shell Turtles
While all goals on this agenda are integrated and support
one another, access to water and sanitation is a foundation
for development towards health, equity, gender equality
and education.
Eliminating inequality is a crucial purpose of the new
agenda. In achieving water and sanitation for all, UNICEF
works to reach the most vulnerable and disadvantaged
Cholera bacteria can colonize the outer surfaces of the Chinese soft-shell, a
species that’s found as parts of Asia. Frank Greenaway / Getty Images
That’s the finding of a study published this month by
scientists at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and
Prevention. And it’s a particular concern in China and
many other countries in East Asia, where turtle meat is
often used in stews and soups.
Pupils in front of a sign promoting hand washing at an elementary school in
Kiryandongo District. © UNICEF/UN03212/Ose
children first. Without equity, sustainable development is
not possible. Read more about WASH and equity.
Targets for Goal 6
Goal 6 seeks to “ensure availability and sustainable
management of water and sanitation for all”. It is a
comprehensive goal addresses the entire water cycle,
from access to use and efficiency, and the integrated
management of water resources and water-related
ecosystems.
UNICEF’s work on WASH will contribute to three main
targets:
Target 6.1: By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access
to safe and affordable drinking water for all
Target 6.2: By 2030, achieve access to adequate and
equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open
defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women
and girls and those in vulnerable situations
The researchers found that the bacterium that causes
cholera, Vibrio cholerae, can colonize many of the outer
surfaces of a soft-shell turtle, including its shell, legs, neck
and calipash — a gelatinous material just underneath the
shell and highly prized as a delicacy. The bacteria can
also live in turtles’ intestines. The study was published
in the scientific journal, Applied and Environmental
Microbiology.
Although China has relatively few cholera cases compared
to other countries, several small outbreaks of cholera
are linked to soft-shell turtles every year, often at rural
banquets — a troubling sign, considering that turtle
consumption in the country has grown to somewhere
between 220 million and 330 million pounds per year.
“We found that soft-shell turtles really can carry Vibrio
cholerae and cause cholera outbreaks,” said Meiying Yan,
one of the study’s authors. “The surface of the turtle was
the most important source of Vibrio cholerae O139.”
O139 is a strain of cholera circulating in Asia that was
discovered in 1992.
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