Worldwide Progress On Drinking Water & Sanitation 2012

Mar 6: According to a report issued by UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) the world has met the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of halving the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water, well in advance of the MDG 2015 deadline. A release indicates that between 1990 and 2010, over two billion people gained access to improved drinking water sources, such as piped supplies and protected wells.

 

    United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, "Today we recognize a great achievement for the people of the world. This is one of the first MDG targets to be met. The successful efforts to provide greater access to drinking water are a testament to all who see the MDGs not as a dream, but as a vital tool for improving the lives of millions of the poorest people." UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake said, "For children this is especially good news. Every day more than 3,000 children die from diarrhoeal diseases. Achieving this target will go a long way to saving children's lives."

 

    The report, Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation 2012, by the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply and Sanitation, indicated that at the end of 2010, 89 per cent of the world's population, or 6.1 billion people, used improved drinking water sources. This is one per cent more than the 88 per cent MDG target. The report estimates that by 2015, 92 per cent of the global population will have access to improved drinking water.

 

    Lake warned that victory could not yet be declared as at least 11 per cent of the world's population -- 783 million people -- are still without access to safe drinking water, and billions without sanitation facilities. He said, "The numbers are still staggering. But the progress announced today is proof that MDG targets can be met with the will, the effort and the funds." The report highlights that the world is still far from meeting the part of the MDG target for sanitation, and is unlikely to do so by 2015. Only 63 per cent of the world now have improved sanitation access, a figure projected to increase only to 67 per cent by 2015, well below the 75 per cent aim in the MDGs. Currently 2.5 billion people still lack improved sanitation.

 

    Access a release from WHO/UNICEF (click here). Access the 2012 Update Report (click here). Access the JMP website (click here). [#Drink, #Water, #MDG, #WHO, #UNICEF, #JMP, #UN]

 

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