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The data collected for JMP come from two main sources: assessment questionnaires and household surveys.
Assessment questionnaires are normally sent to WHO country representatives, to be completed in liaison with local UNICEF staff and national agencies involved in the sector.
Household survey results were collected from several sources, including Demographic Health Surveys (DHS), UNICEF's Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), World Health Surveys (WHS) and national demographic censuses.
| DHS and MICS surveys |
| The DHS and MICS are national cluster sample surveys that cover several thousand households in each country. The samples are stratified to ensure they are representative of urban and rural areas of each country. |
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Data analysis was carried out for each country. Coverage estimates from surveys between 1980 and 2002 were plotted on four separate charts – urban water, rural water, urban sanitation and rural sanitation – and trend lines fitted to the data.
The charts also include data from past WHO surveys, which were based entirely on information given by service providers. This information was not used for current estimates, because the definition of “access” differs between countries. However, the data are part of this database.
The charts can be viewed in the country .pdf files (in the regional level submenus of "water data" and "sanitation data".
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| Monitoring: a difficult task? |
It has always been difficult to monitor how many people have access to improved drinking-water supply and sanitation facilities. In part, this is because the definition of safe, or improved, water-supply and sanitation facilities can differ between countries, and within countries over time.
Experience has shown that estimates based on responses of consumers in household surveys are comparable between countries and therefore are more suitable for global reporting than estimates provided by providers of services. |
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