This thematic report investigates changes in access to and use of drinking water since 1990, exploring disparities in water service delivery, the role of household water treatment and safe storage, and the challenges of sustaining water services and ensuring reliable supplies. Although progress has been made, substantial work is needed to reduce disparities between regions and countries, between urban and rural settings, and between different layers of society.
- Between 1990 and 2008, an estimated 1.77 billion people gained access to improved sources of drinking water (an increase from 77% to 87% of the world's population); yet, by the end of 2008, 884 million people still lacked access to improved water sources.
- Sub-Saharan Africa faces the greatest challenge in increasing the use of improved drinking water sources: Access to piped water supplies has decreased in urban areas and one-fifth of people in rural areas still rely on surface water.
- Drinking water coverage in rural areas lags behind urban areas in all regions: 84% of the population without an improved drinking water source lives in rural areas.
- In Sub-Saharan Africa, water collection times of more than 30 minutes are most common, and when taking time-to-source into account, drinking water coverage drops by eight percentage points.
- Across countries, on average one in two protected dug wells was contaminated and one in three protected springs and boreholes were contaminated, raising concerns over water safety and sustainability and suggesting that access to safe drinking water is lower than the JMP estimates.
- Households with access to improved drinking water sources are more likely to treat their drinking water than households using unimproved sources, indicating that those most in need of household water treatment do not use such methods.
- By 2020, three-quarters of urban dwellers will receive their drinking water through piped systems at home; by 2020, an estimated 57% of rural dwellers will collect their drinking water from community sources.
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- Copyright UNICEF and World Health Organization 2011.
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