6 Mar 2012

GENEVA / WATER MDGS

According to a report issued today (6 March) by UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) the world has met the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of halving the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water, well in advance of the MDG 2015 deadline. WHO

Posted at: March 6, 2012 12:49 pm

Duration: 02:23

Available in: SD

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STORY: GENEVA / WATER MDGS
TRT: 2.23
SOURCE: WHO
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: RECENT 2012, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND / NOVEMBER 2011, NYALA, SOUTH DARDUR, SUDAN

FILE – WHO - NOVEMBER 2011, NYALA, SOUTH DARFUR, SUDAN

1. Wide shot, village entrance
2. Various shots, children filling bidons with water from faucet

RECENT 2012, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Maria Neira, Director Department for Public Health and Environment, WHO:
"WHO and UNICEF we have very good news to announce today. According to our Joint Monitoring Report, we consider that the Millennium Development Goal target for safe drinking water has been reached. This is a very good achievement as we know that in 2010 89 percent of the global population has access to improved sources of safe drinking water. And this is inline with the target of the Millennium Development Goal."

FILE – WHO - NOVEMBER 2011, NYALA, SOUTH DARFUR, SUDAN

4. Wide shot, UN van approaching village
5. Various shots, scientist testing water quality

RECENT 2012, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Maria Neira, Director Department for Public Health and Environment, WHO:
"However, we still have major challenges ahead of us. One of them is the fact that if 89 percent of the global population will have access to improved sources of drinking water, 11 percent of the population is not having on a daily basis access to those improved sources of safe drinking water."

FILE – WHO - NOVEMBER 2011, NYALA, SOUTH DARFUR, SUDAN

7. Close up, filling glass tube with water from faucet
8. Med shot, scientists by water tank
9. Close up, opening faucet
10. Med shot, scientist filling water tube with water from hose
11. Med shot, shaking glass tube

RECENT 2012, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Maria Neira, Director Department for Public Health and Environment, WHO:
"In addition to that we have a major challenge represented by sanitation, it is still difficult to reach that target and therefore we need to maintain our efforts and even go for more efforts and multiplying our efforts."

FILE – WHO - NOVEMBER 2011, NYALA, SOUTH DARFUR, SUDAN

13. Various shot, scientist in lab testing water
14. Med shot, scientists in lab
15. Med shot, scientist testing water
16. Close up, testing water

STORYLINE:

Between 1990 and 2010, over two billion people gained access to improved drinking water sources, such as piped supplies and protected wells.

The report says that at the end of 2010 89 percent of the world's population, or 6.1 billion people, used improved drinking water sources. This is one per cent more than the 88 percent MDG target. The report also estimates that by 2015 92 percent of the global population will have access to improved drinking water.

However, WHO says that there are major challenges ahead. Although 89 percent of the world population does have access to improved sources of drinking water, 11 percent of the population still does not have access to sources of safe drinking water on a daily basis.

The report also highlights that the world is still far from meeting the MDG target for sanitation, and is unlikely to do so by 2015. Only 63 percent of the world now have improved sanitation access, a figure projected to increase only to 67 percent by 2015, well below the 75 percent aim in the MDGs. Currently 2.5 billion people still lack improved sanitation.

UNICEF and WHO also cautioned that since the measurement of water quality is not possible globally, progress towards the MDG target of safe drinking water is measured through gathering data on the use of improved drinking water sources. Significant work must be done to ensure that improved sources of water are and remain safe.

The WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation (JMP) monitors progress towards the MDG target to halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.

The JMP publishes a report every two years which presents an update on the progress made towards reaching the MDG target for drinking water and sanitation using proxy indicators for use of improved drinking-water sources and the use of improved sanitation facilities.