A/HRC/33/49/Add.3 Corporation sometimes collected samples of water, but they had never been informed of the results. The right to information concerning access to water and sanitation is an important element of human rights and people have the right to be informed of the quality of the water that they are consuming and of the associated risks. The Government also has a responsibility to provide guidance to conserve the quality of water in boreholes. 31. Regarding the quality of sanitation services, as of 2015, approximately one-fourth of households had access to waterborne sanitation. There are two major wastewater treatment facilities in Gaborone and Francistown, however, wastewater treatment is not sufficiently carried out. The Special Rapporteur was informed that the capacity of the Francistown facility was currently not sufficient. Some localities use stabilization ponds for wastewater treatment, however, the lagoons are usually overloaded and not adequately maintained. 32. On the other hand, almost half of the population use pit latrines either on their premises or in shared facilities. Pit latrines with proper slabs could be an acceptable solution if they maintain certain standards, including the protection of groundwater, and provide privacy, especially for women and girls. If the household is located in an area where the groundwater table is shallow, the Government will not give permission to use pit latrines or septic tanks with soakaway, but will rather encourage the use of conservancy tanks. Nevertheless, support from the Government in providing guidance regarding latrine construction and sludge management appears insufficient. As a consequence, potential contamination of water sources caused by inadequate management of pit latrines is still a concern in the country. 33. In the Special Rapporteur’s view, the Government could explore alternative sanitation in rural areas, for instance, composting toilets, as a measure for adapting to the effects of climate change. These types of solutions significantly reduce water demand and also contribute to protecting precious water sources from wastewater contamination. The human right to sanitation does not stop at access to a toilet. Sanitation is defined as a system for the collection, transport, treatment and disposal or reuse of human excreta and associated hygiene. People in rural areas told the Special Rapporteur that they were happier with the water supply and pit latrine emptying services that used to be provided by the district authorities. According to them, water provision became unreliable and emptying latrines became unaffordable after the Water Utilities Corporation took them over. They expressed concern that it was difficult to identify who to consult when problems with water and sanitation occurred. The Government has the obligation to ensure that toilets are hygienic to use and to maintain and that waste matter is safely managed even when such services are delegated to other entities. To safeguard the health benefits of access to sanitation and to protect water resources, standards and targets for the full sanitation cycle must be set, from wastewater collection to transport, treatment and disposal or reuse. 34. Related to the quality of water and sanitation services, waterborne diseases, particularly diarrhoea, are still common, in particular in rural areas. While a decrease in the death rate was reported by WHO for 2000 to 2012, diarrhoea was still the cause of 6 per cent of deaths of children under 5 years old in 2013. The under-five mortality rate for 2013 was 47 per 1,000 live births10 with an estimated 180 under-five deaths due to diarrhoeal diseases.11 Responding to the severe drought, in August 2015, the Ministry of Health issued a statement on precautions and interventions to be taken during water and power cuts. It indicated that water shortages at that time might result in public health hazards and advised 10 11 10 See WHO, “Botswana: WHO statistical profile” (last updated January 2015), available at www.who.int/gho/countries/bwa.pdf?ua=1&ua=1. See UNICEF, “Botswana: Statistics”, available at www.unicef.org/infobycountry/ botswana_statistics.html. GE.16-12031