Water and sanitation are at the core of sustainable development, but 2.2 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water, and more than 4.2 billion people lack safely managed sanitation. Climate change is exacerbating the situation; four-fifths of wastewater in the world flows back into the ecosystem without being treated or reused, and 70 per cent of the world's natural wetland has been lost. Covid-19 poses an additional impediment to billions of people, including to hygiene services that are desperately needed to stop the virus spreading.
Early childhood education is an opportunity to enhance children's understanding of the ecology of their planet, and how people live in other parts of the world. It is also an opportunity to introduce new vocabulary which can be linked to the EYFS, e.g. ‘Extend children's vocabulary, explaining unfamiliar words and concepts and making sure children have understood what they mean through stories and other activities’ (Development Matters 2020).
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