The UNICEF and World Health Organisation Joint Monitoring - Programme 2012 report estimates 5 million Zambians live without access to safe water and 6.7 million lack access to improved sanitation (of which around 2.3 million practice open defecation). It is for this reason that Government working with various cooperating partners has embarked on innovative strategies such as the Three Million People Sanitation Programme among others to address this sad state of affairs. The Three Million People Sanitation Programme in all rural districts is targeted at (50% women) and 500,000 pupils in primary schools (50% girls). The main objective of the programme is to contribute to an improved quality of life while reducing sanitation and poor hygiene and associated morbidities through the delivery of integrated services and behavioural change interventions. Government has so far achieved one million sanitation users and through The Three Million People Sanitation Programme it aims to reach the remaining 2 million by 2015.

Read more in the Zambia Daily Mail, 4th August 2014