Approximately 1.2 billion people gained access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation facilities between 1990 and 2004 according to a recent report by UNICEF. Current trends place the world on track to meet the access to drinking water target established in the Millennium Development Goals, but show that the world is not on track to achieve the sanitation target.
According to Progress for Children: A Report Card on Water and Sanitation, global access to improved drinking-water sources rose from 78% in 1990 to 83% in 2004, with substantial improvements made in Asia and the Pacific. The Millennium Development Goal access target of 89% by 2015 appears to be within reach.
Despite improvements, 1 billion people still lack access to safe drinking water and roughly 2.6 billion people, or 40% of the world's population, do not have proper sanitation facilities. Most of these people live in developing countries and rural regions.
Clean water and proper sanitation are fundamental to reducing mortality and combating disease, which, in turn, can lead to improved education and employment opportunities. Children are typically most vulnerable to the impacts of unsafe water and poor sanitation; approximately 1.5 million children under the age of five die every year due to diarrheoa-related diseases.
- "Globally, more than 125 million children under
five years of age live in households without
access to an improved drinking-water source,
and more than 280 million children under five
live in households without access to improved
sanitation facilities." (Progress for Children: A Report Card on Water and Sanitation, UNICEF, 2006)
Greater efforts and financial resources will be needed for continued progress towards halving the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015 (part of Millennium Development Goal Number 7). Future challenges will also include the detrimental ramifications of climate change and population growth. The report concludes by outlining nine specific steps, deemed necessary to meeting the Goal targets on time.
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