Maria Neira, UN World Health Organization’s (WHO) director of public health and environment said that “Neglecting sanitation and drinking water is a strike against progress, and without it, communities and countries will lose the battle against poverty and ill-health.” She told this at the launch of the UN-Water Global Annual Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water (GLAAS) report in Washington.

The report has highlighted that with over 2.6bn people living without access to improved sanitation facilities and nearly 900mn people not receiving drinking water, the progress made in this sphere would be able to fulfil only half of MDG target by 2015. Some sources estimate that with the current pace, it may take couple of centuries to achieve the goal as the world population will grow disproportionate to the achievements made so far at the water and sanitation front.

It is apparent from the report that overall development aid for water and sanitation has fallen from 8 percent in 1997 to just 5 percent in 2008 – less than commitments for health, education, transport, energy and agriculture. Surprisingly, the study is able to find that water and sanitation played a far more important role in improving productivity and welfare of communities as people could allocate more time for productive labour while keeping themselves in good health. It stressed that improved access to sanitation and water produces economic benefits that range from $3 to $34 per dollar invested, increasing a country’s GDP by an estimated two to seven percent.

“Unsafe water, inadequate sanitation and the lack of hygiene claim the lives of estimated 2.2mn children under the age of five every year. Of these deaths, 1.5mn are due to diarrhoea, the second leading contributor to the global burden of disease,” said Dr. Neira. Similarly, Clarissa Brocklehurst, UNICEF Chief of the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) opined it was imperative to act now to provide potable water and proper sanitation before it got into epidemic proportions.

The findings of the report will be presented at the first annual High Level Meeting of Sanitation and Water for All, which will be hosted by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Washington on Friday. The meeting will provide a platform for representatives of developing and donor countries to gain greater understanding of the linkages between water, sanitation and economic growth to commit appropriate resources and promote mutual accountability, partnership and shared responsibility.

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Furthermore, there was concerted effort from a broad-based coalition of organizations in Nova Scotia, a Canadian province, with similar demands urged its premier Darrell Dexter to immediately take actions to counter a number of water issues. The coalition with ‘Turn on the Tap and Ditch the Bottle’ slogan presented the provincial government, a costless three-pronged formula to protect water resources of the province.

The coalition head Danny Cavanagh lashed out at the commercialization of water by saying there is simply no excuse for using bottled water where perfectly good tap water is available. Likewise, Jocelyne Rankin of the Ecology Action Centre said Groundwater was inextricably linked to surface water and over-pumping could cause dramatic declines in water levels, affecting wildlife habitat and recreational and fishing opportunities.

Both groups have identified that water should be made as a human right which would empower citizens to contest on every abuse of this rare depleting resource. The recognition of water as a human right in international law would allow the United Nations (UN) to monitor the progress of states in realizing the right to water, and to hold governments accountable. The Canadian government has consistently opposed the recognition of water as a human right at various UN venues in the past.

According to sources, about 90 Canadians die every year from water-borne diseases, and it is feared if government continues to allow water exports citizens will be deprived of safe and clean water. Bulk water exports and diversions would leave Canada’s water vulnerable to environmental depletion and international trade challenges, which could permanently open the sluice gates to some of the parched US states. In water parlance, a country like Canada which is built on the myth of abundance of fresh water has in fact just one percent renewable water resources, and this seemed to have worked in favour to draw such a huge support for the cause.

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