UNICEF Reports Millions of Children Lack Access to Sanitation

A former executive for Ford Motor Company, Philip Calhoun now serves as the executive vice president of the Michigan manufacturing firm Total Quality Engineering. Philip Calhoun is also a supporter of several charitable organizations, including diabetes advocacy initiative JDRF and UNICEF.

In 2020, UNICEF released a report highlighting the dearth of sanitation and clean water at schools attended by hundreds of millions of children worldwide. Around the globe, more than 40 percent of children do not have access to handwashing facilities at school.

In most underdeveloped countries, 75 percent of children are not able to wash their hands properly, and more than half do not have suitable bathrooms at school. Regions with the lowest basic hygiene coverage include the islands of Polynesia, sub-Saharan Africa, and central Asia.

As a result, these children have an increased likelihood of contracting water-borne illnesses and infectious diseases. In collaboration with local governments and community organizations, UNICEF is dedicated to expanding access to WASH services for schools in impoverished communities.