Securing availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all, the aim of Sustainable Development Goal No. 6, is within reach for Asia and the Pacific.

In merely a quarter of a century, safe water supply coverage in the region has reached a startling 92%.

However, progress in sanitation coverage and hygiene has not been as sizeable: only 65% of Asia’s 4.3 billion people had access to improved facilities in 2015. These figures nonetheless mask many differences.

In most sub-regions of Asia and the Pacific safe sanitation is practiced by 70% to 80% of the population, but in South and South-West Asia, less than 50% of people do.

Most striking are the disparities between urban and rural areas: while only 19% of urban dwellers lack access to adequate toilets, a daunting 50% face the same problem in rural areas.

Wealth is an important factor, yet a change in mindset is also needed, and here are ways to bridge that urban-rural divide in sanitation.