Who wins the access to safe water and sanitation battle? Switzerland or Cameroon?

Another super interesting match coming up between the high tech mountain nation of Switzerland and Cameroon, the first African country that made it to the quarter finals in 1990. A little bit of country background first. 

Cameroon.

Just like the Netherlands, Cameroon has a lion as their mascot. Cameroon’s choice is a lot more fitting as wild lions still roam in Cameroon. Lions might have lived in the Netherlands 50,000 years ago (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7387438/) but can now only be found in zoos, making a Lion a lame symbol for the Netherlands.  Cameroon impressed the world in 1990, during their second appearance at the World Cup, and caused one of the greatest World Cup shocks in history. The Indomitable Lions beat World Champion Argentina during the group stage. The fairy tail ended in the quarter finals when they lost in extra time against England. How will this nation of 27 million perform against Switzerland?

Switzerland.

Switzerland is well known for its watches, chocolate cheese fondue and the it’s army’s Bicycle Regiment which was just abolished just 20 years ago. Switzerland is one of the richest countries in the world. Its 9 million inhabitants speak French, a funny version of German, Italian and Romansh. The Swiss are ranked 15th in the world 28 places above Cameroon. Switzerland has been at the World Cup 11 times and made it to the quarter finals 3 times.  Now let’s dive into the statistics on clean drinking water and access to sanitation to see who will win this contest!

Percentage of population that can drink from a tap in their house

Switzerland.

In Switzerland, 94% of the households have a tap that provides safe drinking water. We are not sure about the fate of the remaining 6 %. Maybe they drink straight from a pristine mountain river.  Maybe they have chocolate milk coming from the taps. It’s a well kept secret. 

The Swiss water is said to be super high quality just like Swiss watches. Unlike those watches, water is cheap in Switzerland, only 2.39 euro per 1000 liters. 

Cameroon.

Nobody has access to safe drinking water in their house in Cameroon. Many people do not even have a tap. So if you are in Cameroon, get yourself a water filter. 

Winner: Switzerland

Percentage of population that are connected to a decent sewage system or similar

Switzerland.

In Switzerland 100% of people are connected to a proper sewage system. In that way the Swiss keep their rivers and lakes clean. The Swiss have so much money that they flush gold down their toilets. An estimated 40 kg  of gold is flushed down Swiss sewage systems each year, according to a study by the aquatic science institute Eawag (https://www.eawag.ch/en/news-agenda/news-portal/news-detail/3-millionen-franken-gehen-als-gold-und-silber-bachab/)   The lost gold is worth nearly $2 million at current prices.

Cameroon.

Nobody has access to safe sanitation in Cameroon. Less people (5%)  now go to the bushes to do their job (open defecation) but most of the toilets are connected to septic pits that are in open contact with groundwater or just drain to rivers and lakes.  At least, last year Cameroon opened its first sludge treatment plant to treat sewage from septic tanks. A small step forward that is!

Winner: Gold plated switzerland

Percentage of households where you can wash your hands with soap.

Switzerland

Like many rich nations, Switzerland feels it is too good to report on hand washing facilities. We count that as 0%.  A pity because behavioral studies show that the Swiss are among Europe’s most diligent when it comes to hand hygiene. 

Cameroon

In Cameroon, 36 % of houses have hand washing facilities.  Not bad at all for a country were 71% of the population lives off less than US$5.5 per day. 

Winner on handwashing  : Cameroon!

Wildcard.

No wild cards available to day

Prediction: Switzerland – Cameroon – 2:1 . Win for Switzerland.