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Title
UN University, Institute for Water - Sanitation as a Key
to Global Health:
Voices from the Field
Abstract
It is very clear that water-related disease is responsible
for a significant proportion of the global burden of
illness. It is equally clear that, while there is significant
progress towards the Millennium Development Goal
target for drinking water, sanitation is falling woefully
short of the target. Provisioning of adequate sanitation
has not managed to keep up with population growth
and the aggregate number of unserved people has
increased over the past 2 years. Projections by the
United Nations show that the world will miss the latter
target by almost a billion people. The international
community needs to wake up to this reality and its
ramifications for human development.
Not only is sanitation critical for dignity and health, it
is the most basic form of source water protection –
without controlling inputs of raw sewage into water
bodies, drinking water treatment processes have to
be unnecessarily more effective and water-based
economic activities are compromised. This realisation
is nothing new – indeed, it was recognised in England
at the turn of the 19th century. In addition, sanitation
is a critical component in striving for global equity and
poverty reduction.
In real terms, the commitment to provide sanitation
to all does not have a huge price tag, especially when
compared with the recent bailout funds mobilized to
overcome the global economic crisis. Indeed, a commitment
could and should be made to 100% coverage
by 2025, at an annual cost of 0.002% of GDP from
donor countries. However, there is a need for smart
investment of these funds – initiatives that develop
the market at the bottom of the pyramid and initiatives
that facilitate local business development and entrepreneurism.
It is not simply a question of sanitation
provisioning, but strengthening the local economy.
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