During the 1990's it became apparent that the established goals would not be met by 2000, as a result of which new international development targets for water-supply and sanitation coverage were established as part of the process leading up to the Second World Water Forum in March 2000 (see box "International development targets").
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To achieve the MDG drinking water target for 2015, an additional 1.2 billion people will need access from 2004 to 2015.
This number translates into providing services for 260'000 people every day from 2004 to 2015.
Lack of political will, lack of financial resources, weak institutional frameworks, neglect of consumer preferences, cultural beliefs…the obstacles to progress are many and require both a "top-down"
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and a "bottom-up" approach to mobilize all the resources within a society. Among the later, involving women and investing in education have proven to be efficient means of changing behaviours and introducing new practices.
Providing both the rural and urban poor with adequate water supply and sanitation are two important challenges. Of the people without access to improved water sources worldwide, about 84% live in rural areas, where drinking-water quality is especially difficult to control. |
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| International development targets |
| Targets for water supply and sanitation coverage were adopted by the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, August 2002. |
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by 2015: halve the proportion of people without access to basic sanitation facilities. |
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by 2015: halve the proportion of people without sustainable access to adequate quantities of affordable and safe water. |
On the other hand, cities worldwide are growing at an incredible rate. The current urban population of 3.1 billion will increase to 3.8 billion in 2015 and to 4.5 billion in 2025.
Megacities create tremendous demand for water and act as concentrated sources of pollution. |
