“From Ethiopia and Yemen to Bolivia and Vietnam, millions of children [on Tuesday took] part in the sixth annual United Nations-backed Global Handwashing Day, driving home the message that the simple use of soap and water can slash highly preventable diarrheal diseases that kill 1,400 children under five every day,”…

“Some 2.5 billion people do not have access to adequate sanitation, the United Nations said, and more than one billion practice open defecation — a problem that contributes to countless deaths from preventable diseases,” the Associated Press reports, noting World Toilet Day is observed November 19. “Each year, more than…

Huffington Post: The Fundamental Question About Water Hope Randall, communications associate with the Defeat Diarrheal Disease (DefeatDD) Initiative at PATH “…Since 1990, we have cut the number of global child deaths in half … WASH continues to be one of the most practical ways we can fulfill our commitment to…

Humanosphere: To get people to build toilets, turn to subsidies Humanosphere reporter Tom Murphy discusses “[r]esearch published in Science Magazine last week show[ing] that providing subsidies for the construction of latrines in northwest Bangladesh was more effective than information and motivation programs. Putting the two together produced even better results…”…

International Business Times: Nepal Earthquake: In Tent Cities, Water Shortages, Open Toilets Add To Fears Of Looming Health Disaster “…In the thousands of tent communities that have bloomed across Nepal’s earthquake-hit areas since Saturday, residents whose homes were destroyed often have no choice but to use parts of the encampments…

The Guardian: Water and sanitation in health centers in Mali — podcast transcript “…This is Lucy Lamble. And this month on the Guardian’s Global Development podcast we look at how health centers in Mali are affected by this problem. I visit the rural village of Diatoula and a clinic in…

International Business Times: Kenya Cholera Outbreak 2015: Nairobi Bans Raw Food, Hawking To Contain Spread Of Water-Borne Illness In Kibera Slum “A Kenyan governor has banned eating raw food and shuttered businesses that sell food from residences in and around Nairobi after a deadly cholera outbreak in the city’s Kibera…

U.N. News Centre: New U.N. report shows mixed results for reaching MDG health targets by end of 2015 “The United Nations health agency [Wednesday] reported that by the end of 2015, the world will have met the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for turning around the epidemics of HIV, malaria, and…

U.N. News Centre: Burundi humanitarian crisis worsens as political tensions in country grow “The humanitarian crisis caused by the ‘escalating political tensions’ in Burundi has worsened, according to the United Nations which today reported an uptick in the number of Burundian refugees seeking asylum and a deterioration in health conditions…

U.N. News Centre: New humanitarian appeal for Iraq vital to meet rising health needs among displaced — U.N. “If the upcoming launch of the 2015 humanitarian response plan for Iraq by the United Nations and partners fails to raise the required $500 million, the people of the country, especially those…