PHA-Exchange> IMPROVING WATER AND SANITATION ACCESS WOULD COST $11.3 BILLION MORE A YEAR - UN

[Claudio]

From: "Vern Weitzel" <vern.weitzel at undp.org>
> IMPROVING WATER AND SANITATION ACCESS WOULD COST $11.3 BILLION MORE A
YEAR - UN
> New York, Apr 27 2004  6:00PM
> With the United Nations Millennium Declaration putting pressure on
governments to halve the number of people lacking access to
> safe water and decent sanitation by 2015, a new report, sponsored by the
UN health agency and launched today, estimates that the
> additional global investment needed will be $11.3 billion per year.
>
> The World Health Organization (WHO) report, "Evaluation of the Costs and
Benefits of Water and Sanitation Improvements at the
> Global Level," was prepared by the Swiss Tropical Institute and presented
at the UN Commission on Sustainable Development
> (<"http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd/csd12/csd12.htm">CSD-12) in New York.
>
> The economic benefits from each dollar invested range from $3 to $34 - or
even as much as $60 - depending on the region. An $11.3
> billion investment could bring an $84 billion return, the report says.
>
> In the calculations, savings of time from locating water and sanitation
facilities more conveniently for people are valued at the
> minimum hourly wage rate for each country.
>
> The report notes that improving water and sanitation saves on funds for
treating sometimes fatal diarrhoea and other water-borne
> diseases. The reduction of infectious diarrhoea ranges from 4 per cent in
the poorest areas, using simple improvements, to 69 per
> cent in areas using the highest water supply and sanitation technologies.
>
> "In 2003, there were an estimated 6 million deaths due to unsafe water and
lack of sanitation and hygiene, 90 per cent of those of
> children in developing countries," Dr. Jamie Bartram,
<"http://www.who.int/mediacentre/releases/2004/pr28/en/">WHO Coordinator for
> Water, Sanitation and Health, told a news conference at UN Headquarters in
New York. "However, outbreaks of diseases related to
> the problems broke out in countries at all levels of development."
>
> Asked why the Millennium Development Goal
(<"http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/">MDG) for water was presenting such
difficulties,
> WHO Assistant Director-General Dr. Kerstin Leitner said, "The world
population is still growing.
>
> "Something that used to be an abundant resource was abundant no more, the
more so since the world population is moving into areas
> that did not use to have settlements, such as the semi-arid north China
plain, still using traditional water technologies."
>
> Increased industrialization had also polluted more water resources, she
said.
>
> Governments have pledged to provide 1.5 billion people with access to
improved drinking water and 1.9 billion people with basic
> sanitation facilities by 2015, under the MDGs, adopted at a UN summit in
2000.
>
> Improving only water supplies would cost an additional $1.78 billion
annually. Improving sanitation costs a great deal more
> because a greater number of people need access at this time and require
more privacy, whereas water supply services are shared by
> many people for many public uses, it said.