Access to clean and safe water
The access to improved drinking-water sources and basic sanitation varies greatly from urban to rural areas. Only 45% of the rural population has access to improved sanitation leaving more than 1.8 billion people without improved sanitation services. In comparison, 96% and 76% of people in urban areas have access to improved drinking-water sources and improved sanitation, respectively.
The link between water and development
The economic costs of lost time in fetching water and the impact on the environment from wastewater pollution are high. Increasing people’s access to sanitation and clean drinking-water greatly benefits the development of individual countries through improvements in health outcomes. Huge savings in health-care costs and gains in productive days can therefore be realized by improving access to safe water and basic sanitation.
Increasing the number of people with access to safe drinking-water and improved sanitation brings health and broader livelihood benefits, while saving millions of lives each year. More than an estimated 2.2 million deaths of children per year could be prevented by the reduction of diarrheal and malnutrition impacts related to unsafe water, inadequate sanitation or insufficient hygiene. The impact of diarrheal disease is greater than the combined impact of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Providing safe and clean water would reduce diarrhea diseases by nearly 90%
To supply sustainable services, there is a need for integrated solutions that links local management and close community involvement in planning, financing, implementation, and operations. Furthermore, a broad development context allows institutions to respond and support a range of community needs. Keeping focus on integrating these measures and addressing post-construction sustainability ensures that institutions, funds, and expertise are locally available and thus viable
Source: www.unwater.org/downloads/UN-Water_GLAAS_2010_Report.pdf