This Is Where Soap and Water Is a Luxury

(Bloomberg Opinion) -- If you think it’s a chore singing two rounds of “Happy Birthday” every time you wash your hands these days, consider that at least 1.2 billion people live in countries where less than half the population has access to soap and water.

In Liberia, for example, only 1.2% of 4.7 million people enjoy such a quotidian luxury. It remains to be seen what effect such grinding poverty has not only on domestic death rates, but also for the future of international trade and travel.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Ben Schott is a Bloomberg Opinion visual columnist. He created the Schott’s Original Miscellany and Schott’s Almanac series, and writes for newspapers and magazines around the world.

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