This article focuses on the background of the problem, what it means for nearly half the people of the developing world who lack adequate sanitation and hygiene. Today, an estimated 2.4 to 2.6 billion individuals lack access to any type of improved sanitation facility according to the World Health Organization (WHO). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) half of the developing world, more than 35 % of the world’s population lack access to adequate sanitation. And, poor sanitation and hygiene are inextricably linked to water quality.
Initially launched as a multi-faceted vision research project in the mid-1970s, data that became available indicated the value of developing an intervention program that would not only prevent blindness, but reduce childhood (and we now know maternal) morbidity and mortality in developing countries.