Elderly individuals accounted for almost 80% of deaths associated with health problems that can be caused by the precariousness of water and sanitation services and lack of hygiene in Brazil. This is indicated by data released on Tuesday (9) by IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics). According to the agency, out of a total of 9,463 deaths attributed to unsafe water sources, unsafe sanitation, and lack of hygiene in 2022, a portion of 7,492 (79.2%) involved victims aged 60 or older. Children aged zero to four years (694 or 7.3% of the total) followed. Health experts point out that the lack of adequate sanitation can cause, for example, diseases transmitted from contaminated water or vectors attracted by open sewers.

The data released on Tuesday by IBGE is part of the publication "Creating Synergies between the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the G20." In the work, the institute gathers statistics related to the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) of the 2030 Agenda, which include health and well-being. One of the goals is, by 2030, to substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals, air, and water pollution of the soil. In the case of deaths associated with water, sanitation, and hygiene problems, the data comes from the Ministry of Health and population projections from IBGE. The involvement of the elderly in deaths attributed to these causes (79.2%) is higher than in the overall number of deaths recorded in Brazil. In 2022, the country had a total of 1.5 million deaths from various causes, and individuals aged 60 or older accounted for 71.5% of these cases, according to another IBGE survey released in March.

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