Urban and Rural Challenges in view of the International Year of Sanitation 2008

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1 Urban and Rural Challenges in view of the International Year of Sanitation 2008 G. Kamizoulis, PhD, MPH World Health Organization Mediterranean Action Plan

2 Sanitation facilities interrupt the transmission of faecal-oral disease at its important source by preventing human faeces from contaminating sources of drinking water

3 Studies suggest that sanitation is at least as effective in preventing diseases as improved water supply

4 FACTS Provision of sanitation is a key development intervention Access to sanitation, increases health, well-being and economic productivity Inadequate sanitation impacts: Individuals Households Communities Countries Achieving real gains in sanitation coverage has been slow

5 IMPACTS 40% of World s population (2.4 b) have no access to sanitation, 81% of these in rural areas WHO estimates that: - 1,8 million die each year from diarrhoeal diseases million are infected with schistosomiasis - 1 billion suffer from soil transmitted helminth infections - Nearly 5,500 children die every day from contaminated food and water

6 SANITATION COVERAGE Global sanitation coverage 49% in % in Still 2,6 billion live without improved sanitation half of developing world Sanitation coverage in developing countries 49% (2002) half that of the developed world (98%) Population without improved sanitation by region in 2002 (in millions)

7 GLOBAL RESPONSE Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Goal 7 Ensure environmental sustainability Target 10 - Halve by 2015 the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water & sanitation -Integrate sanitation into water resources management strategies Target 11 - Have achieved by 2020, a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers

8 WHY MEETING THE TARGET MATTERS Inadequate sanitation: unseen emergency that continues to unfold - It doesn t fell dozens all at once (like a bomb) - It doesn t carry away towns in the blink of an eye (like a flood) It kills its victims mostly infants and small children largely unnoticed, spiriting them away one by one from rural villages and urban slums in every corner of the developing world

9 WHY MEETING THE TARGET MATTERS MEETING THE SANITATION TARGET will require that: an additional 1 billion urban dwellers almost 900 million people in often remote rural communities are able to use improved sanitation services MEETING THE SANITATION TARGET will mean for billions of the world s poorest people: better health longer lives greater dignity

10 MOVING AHEAD To halve the proportion of people without improved sanitation: global coverage needs to grow to 75% by 2015 starting by 49% in 1990 Without a sharp acceleration in the rate of progress (from 49% to 58%) the world will miss the sanitation target by more than half a billion people 2,4 billion people will be without improved sanitation in 2015 (almost as many as there are today) The greatest need for improvement is in rural areas and peri-urban areas

11 MOVING AHEAD The widening gap between progress registered and the target signals that the world will meet its sanitation goals only with a dramatic acceleration in the provision of services The proportion of world s population with improved sanitation has increased by just 9% since 1990 a far slower rate that required to meet MDG target Projected population without improved sanitation

12 ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF ACHIEVING MDGs SANITATION TARGET Cost and Benefit Analysis of Water and Sanitation Improvements at Global level An additional amount of 11,3 billion US$ / year (over and above current investments) economic benefit of 84 billion US$ / year The economic benefit would range from 3 US$ to 34 US$ per 1 US$ invested (depending on the region) The global incidence of diarrhoeal disease would decrease by 10% on average

13 WAY FORWARD TO 2015 Key areas for action towards increase in sanitation coverage Increasing political commitment Enacting legislation Increasing financial resources Working with small-scale enterpreneurs Working with women s organizations Focusing on youth and using education Building capacity to make a difference Monitoring progress

14 WAY FORWARD TO 2015 Dismayed by halting progress for MDG 7/10 because of: Excreta and its disposal are unpopular subjects at local and international levels Absence of strong champions to raise public awareness The United Nations General Assembly declared: 2008 INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF SANITATION

15 SANITATION IN RURAL AREAS Presence of government is limited Rural district centres are physically remote from communities in need Lack of coordination among different departments Lack of interest among staff to be assigned to remote locations

16 SANITATION COVERAGE IN COASTAL MEDITERRANEAN AREAS Total coastal population: 152,000,000 Coastal population in cities > 10,000: 59,000,000 Coastal population in cities < 10,000: 93,000,000 Cities with no treatment plants Coastal population in cities > 10,000: 7,000,000 Coastal population in cities < 10,000: 30,000,000 MEDITERRANEAN COASTAL POPULATION 9,000,000 8,000,000 7,000,000 6,000,000 POPULATION 5,000,000 4,000,000 3,000,000 2,000,000 1,000,000 - Albania Algeria Croatia Cyprus Egypt France Greece Israel Italy Lebanon Libya Malta Monaco Morocco Slovenia Spain Syria Tunisia Turkey COUNTRIES

17 To achieve the MDG 7/10 requires huge steps to be taken Only by promoting sanitation there is a major chance to achieve it especially in small communities