Water and foodstuffs (Ecuador)

Water and foodstuffs (Ecuador)
2016 Cleaning fish for lunch in the stream. Aitaca (Ecuador) © AEEH

Water and foodstuffs (Ecuador)

In 2015 most of the population of Ecuador has access to drinking water and improved sanitation, with differences between rural and urban settlements (drinking water: 96% in cities and 76% in rural areas; and sanitation 87 and 81% respectively).

In spite of these advances in the availability of drinking water and adequate sanitation, about 4 million people, including large numbers of the indigenous population, still do not have access to them, although the installation of the necessary infrastructure is progressing in many settlements.

Some indigenous settlements still have to get water from wells, rivers, or by collecting rainwater from slopes.