UNITED NATIONS: Poor sanitation costs Pakistan over $4.2 billion or 6.3 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to United Nations estimates released on Thursday on the eve of world water day.

The United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson launched a call for urgent action to end the crisis of 2.5bn people without basic sanitation, and to change a situation in which more people worldwide have mobile phones than toilets.

According to the estimates, poor sanitation costs countries between 0.5 and 7.2pc of their GDP — $448 million/7.2pc of GDP in Cambodia; $53.8bn/6.4pc of GDP in India; $6.3bn/2.3pc of GDP in Indonesia; $17.5m/2pc of GDP in Liberia; $4.2bn/6.3pc of GDP in Pakistan; and $3bn/1.3pc of GDP in Nigeria.

“I am determined to energise action that will lead to results,” said Mr Eliasson. “I am calling on all actors — government, civil society, business and international organisations — to commit to measurable action and to mobilise the resources to rapidly increase access to basic sanitation.”

He said this was a problem that people did not like to talk about.

“But it goes to the heart of ensuring good health, a clean environment and fundamental human dignity for billions of people — and achieving the Millennium Development Goals. With just over a thousand days for action before the 2015 Millennium Development Goals deadline, we have a unique window of opportunity to deliver a generational change.”