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(burning wood, charcoal and dung gives off particularly harmful chemicals), poor lighting leads to eyesight problems and poor housing and poverty in general leads to stress, depression and illness. As expected, rural homes, which constitute 52.6% of Honduran residences, were found to be larger than urban ones (an average of 5.3 and 4.7 inhabitants respectively) and one of the determining factors in whether or not the residents have access to basic services.

In Honduras 17% of homes do not count on an adequate service of water. The low access levels are attributed to the fact that public utilities cover only 6% of rural areas, meaning 61% of residents count on a collective private service, i.e. a single-source, communal supply. However, of the 73% of people who have access to water, 20% utilize natural sources such as rivers, streams and lagoons.

Basic forms of sanitation were also highlighted as a problem with 21% of Honduran homes not counting on adequate systems of sanitation. This increases to 28% in rural areas due to a greater reliance on latrines with simple wells and no form of waste elimination. In urban areas 58% of the population have access to toilets connected to some kind of drainage system, increasing to 86% in areas such as San Pedro Sula.
With infectious water-related diseases, such as E. Coli, Giardia, Cryptosporidium, Hepatitis E, Rotavirus and Legionella, being a major cause of morbidity and mortality, access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation is paramount and, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), the contribution expanded access can make to poverty alleviation is immense.

Both educational background and income level is said to be the root of such problems. Only 0.7% of people who lack any formal education have any kind of sanitation system and 28% of the poorest homes are classed as overcrowded. In contrast, 66% of the rich have access to a toilet connected to a network of drains and 11% have a toilet connected to a septic well. Furthermore, the results show that overcrowding is greater when the leader has no educational level (23%), over a secondary (7%) or higher education (1%).

The health and socioeconomic benefits of improving access to safe water and adequate sanitation are as immense as they are economically rational. According to the WHO's economic evaluation study, US$1 invested would give an economic return of between US$3 and US$34. Achieving this target would require an additional investment of around $US11.3 billion per year over and above current investment levels and the benefits would include an average global reduction of diarrhea episodes of 10% and a total economic benefit of US$84 billion.

In 2003, 1.6 million deaths were attributable to unsafe water and inadequate sanitation, including lack of hygiene; 90% of this burden is concentrated on children under five. With 1.1 billion people in the world without access to improved sources of water and 2.4 billion without access to improved sanitation, maybe the national curriculum should take a practical stance - sacrifice long division for health awareness? With volunteer and international aid organizations working around the clock to bring water to some of Honduras' poorest villages, their efforts will come too late for many Hondurans. As political debates focus on whether or not to sentence the people of an impoverished nation to death for crimes of desperation, the honest, hard-working farmer still doesn't know not to defecate in his kitchen.

	Honduras News -- Children

	*Lack of Education Blamed for Poor Housing Standards* By RUSSELL S. BROWN As Japanese Mathematicians formulate a new and improved curriculum for Honduran students, the vast majority of the population still lack any basic form of education which, according to the National Institute of Statistics' 29th Survey of Permanent Homes of Multiple Purposes, is to blame for overcrowding and lack of access to services such as clean drinking water, energy and rudimentary sanitation. The report estimates that the country's 1,396,884 homes harbor some 7,000,011 people, giving an average of over 5.0 people per home in just 3.3 rooms, 1.8 of which are used for sleeping. By definition, overcrowding is taken to mean three or more people per room and, as such, 83% of Honduran homes are classed as overcrowded. Cramped and crowded conditions give rise to poor hygiene by providing places for vermin to breed and transmit diseases, such as Chagas disease, via fleas, ticks and other vectors. Poor hygiene leads to food and water contamination, poor air quality leads to respiratory problems

	(burning wood, charcoal and dung gives off particularly harmful chemicals), poor lighting leads to eyesight problems and poor housing and poverty in general leads to stress, depression and illness. As expected, rural homes, which constitute 52.6% of Honduran residences, were found to be larger than urban ones (an average of 5.3 and 4.7 inhabitants respectively) and one of the determining factors in whether or not the residents have access to basic services. In Honduras 17% of homes do not count on an adequate service of water. The low access levels are attributed to the fact that public utilities cover only 6% of rural areas, meaning 61% of residents count on a collective private service, i.e. a single-source, communal supply. However, of the 73% of people who have access to water, 20% utilize natural sources such as rivers, streams and lagoons. Basic forms of sanitation were also highlighted as a problem with 21% of Honduran homes not counting on adequate systems of sanitation. This increases to 28% in rural areas due to a greater reliance on latrines with simple wells and no form of waste elimination. In urban areas 58% of the population have access to toilets connected to some kind of drainage system, increasing to 86% in areas such as San Pedro Sula. With infectious water-related diseases, such as E. Coli, Giardia, Cryptosporidium, Hepatitis E, Rotavirus and Legionella, being a major cause of morbidity and mortality, access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation is paramount and, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), the contribution expanded access can make to poverty alleviation is immense. Both educational background and income level is said to be the root of such problems. Only 0.7% of people who lack any formal education have any kind of sanitation system and 28% of the poorest homes are classed as overcrowded. In contrast, 66% of the rich have access to a toilet connected to a network of drains and 11% have a toilet connected to a septic well. Furthermore, the results show that overcrowding is greater when the leader has no educational level (23%), over a secondary (7%) or higher education (1%). The health and socioeconomic benefits of improving access to safe water and adequate sanitation are as immense as they are economically rational. According to the WHO's economic evaluation study, US$1 invested would give an economic return of between US$3 and US$34. Achieving this target would require an additional investment of around $US11.3 billion per year over and above current investment levels and the benefits would include an average global reduction of diarrhea episodes of 10% and a total economic benefit of US$84 billion. In 2003, 1.6 million deaths were attributable to unsafe water and inadequate sanitation, including lack of hygiene; 90% of this burden is concentrated on children under five. With 1.1 billion people in the world without access to improved sources of water and 2.4 billion without access to improved sanitation, maybe the national curriculum should take a practical stance - sacrifice long division for health awareness? With volunteer and international aid organizations working around the clock to bring water to some of Honduras' poorest villages, their efforts will come too late for many Hondurans. As political debates focus on whether or not to sentence the people of an impoverished nation to death for crimes of desperation, the honest, hard-working farmer still doesn't know not to defecate in his kitchen.