Clean, Running Water in Cambodia's Capital!

In the capital city of Cambodia, Phnom Penh, amidst the small, lean-to homes, people are able to drink water directly from their faucets. With a population of 1.7 million, the city has managed to provide almost the entire urban population with access to clean, running water.

It all started with 61-year-old Ek Sonn Chan, head of the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA). In 1993, when Chan was appointed head of the PPWSA, only 25 percent of Phnom Penh had access to running water. Today that statistic has changed to 92 percent.

Residents used to pay $1 a day for dirty water, and now they pay $4 a month for clean, safe water that comes from a faucet in their own home. Chan points out that almost everyone pays on time.

"It's not the problem of scarcity of water resources;” Chan explains, “It's not the lack of financing, but because of [the] lack of good governance." By gaining the city’s support, first with politicians, and then beyond, Chan has been able to bring good governance to Phnom Penh.

Another important part has been international aid. Chan explains that in his first meetings with international funds agencies in 1994, it took 5 days to get $10 million for assistance. Today, however, people come to him asking if he needs money.

Chan’s next step is the rest of Cambodia. He has written on a piece of paper above his bed that he will not rest until the entire country has clean running water.

-Sami Ressler

SOURCE: NPR

International World Water Day

Today we celebrate the International World Water Day. This event has been celebrated every 22nd March since it was designated so by the UN General Assembly in 1993, as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and sustainable management of water resources.

Each year the International World Water Day highlights one particular aspect of water. This year it regards water and urbanisation, with the motto "Water for Cities: responding to the urban challenge." In the past years, other subjects were treated, such as water scarcity, sanitation, water quality, transboundary waters, disasters, or water and culture. More than 800 events are taking place today to commemorate this day, being the main one located in Capetown, South Africa. A number of agreements and treaties are being signed this day too, like a Memorandum of Understanding to face water challenges between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick.

- David Nebreda

SOURCE: UN WATER

Improved Sanitation Could Prevent More than 2 Million Child Deaths a Year

A new series of studies on sanitation reveals that unsafe sanitation and drinking water results in nearly 20 percent of all child deaths in the world and at least 7 percent of disease across the world. The studies, published in the Public Library of Science (PLoS) Medicine Journal, found that this year 2.6 billion people, including over one billion children, lack basic sanitation, two-thirds of which live in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Furthermore, at any given time nearly half of the urban populations of Africa, Asia, and Latin America have a disease linked to poor sanitation and hygiene.

The progress to improve access to better sanitation has been slow due to lack of national policies that establish clear institutional responsibilities, and population growth in urban areas of developing countries. Despite these constraints, international donors, United Nations agencies, and developing country governments can reduce this global disease burden. The Millennium Development Goal sanitation target calls for the amount of people living without access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation to be halved by 2015 from levels in 2000.

Although the main goal of improving sanitation is health, there are also social and economic benefits. Some of the main motivators for sanitation adoption among householders in developing countries are spurred by the desire for privacy, wanting to be modern, and avoiding embarrassment. In addition, for women, household sanitation reduces the risk of rape or attack when using public latrines, and for girls, school sanitation facilities results in fewer days missed from school due to staying at home during menstruation.

The economic benefits of improved sanitation could save some $7 billion dollars per year in health care costs and attribute to greater overall GDP due to a greater number of deaths averted. Furthermore, there would be fewer days lost at work or school due to illness or caring for an ill relative. The cost-benefit ratios of achieving the MDG sanitation target shows that every one dollar spent on sanitation generates about ten dollars worth of economic benefit, mainly by gains in productivity from not being ill.

The involvement of international policy is crucial to accelerating the achievement of universal access to safe drinking water, improved sanitation and hygiene. Paul Hunter, a leader of one of the PLoS studies, writes, “We know enough now about the importance of improved water supply, sanitation, and hygiene ... to consider universal access to these services to be an urgent imperative."

- Martina Georgieva

SOURCE: Reuters , PLoS Collections

African Development Bank Gives Tanzania Money for Water

On September 15, the Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) approved $98 million to go towards a Tanzanian program focused on increasing rural water supplies. Tanzania's long-term development plan was implemented to meet the MDGs in 2001. The first phase of the water project is already completed. It provided 8,250 operational water points serving 1.9 million people. Another part of the program involved building 370 demonstration latrines, through which 1.5 million people were educated about sanitation and hygiene.

The program is designed to sustainably improve health and quality of life for rural Tanzanians. Before implementation, half of all Tanzanians did not have access to a safe water supply. Those who did often had to walk long distances, negatively impacting economic development. Tanzania's aggressive program will reduce the spread of waterborne illness, help with poverty eradication, provide safe drinking water to almost 5 million people, and 10 million will benefit from the sanitation and hygiene program. Go Tanzania!

-Erica Stetz

SOURCE: African Development Bank