A/66/255 166 million people gained access to improved sanitation between 1995 and 2008, yet access among the poorest quintile of the population improved by only around 3 per cent. 59 46. States and international donors must prioritize in their water and sanitation strategies the obligations of immediate effect related to the rights. Donors should consider shifting their focus and resources to low-income countries in which levels of basic access remain low or, alternatively, developing stronger indicators to ensure that aid allocations to middle-income countries effectively target marginalized and disadvantaged communities. States, meanwhile, should develop national strategies for water and sanitation that emphasize the expansion of basic access, ensuring that the most marginalized and excluded are reached. This will also necessitate heightened financial support for monitoring at both the national and international level in order to track where their funds are going, as well as who benefits. Consultation with communities will also provide important information on which households are the most in need. 47. Current funding patterns disproportionately target networked urban areas. Large systems in urban areas (e.g. wastewater treatment facilities and sewerage pipelines etc.) receive vastly larger sums than basic services in rural areas and deprived urban areas (e.g. latrines, boreholes and hand pumps). Currently, 62 per cent of all of the sectoral aid goes to developing large systems, while only 16 per cent goes to basic systems. 60 This marks a near 10 per cent decline in funding basic services since 2003. 48. Where large-scale systems are planned, it is important to investigate who benefits: do these investments improve services for those who already enjoy access, or do they expand coverage to those who lack it? Piped water systems generally offer the best quality water at the lowest cost per capita owing to economies of scale. These systems must, however, also be made available to those households which are unserved or under-served in peri-urban and informal settlements. At present, the benefits from large-scale systems largely go to middle and upperincome households, reinforcing discrimination and exacerbating disparities between rich and poor. 61 C. Choosing appropriate technologies 49. Progressive realization of the rights to water and sanitation does not automatically translate into higher costs. Different regions and contexts will require consideration of different technologies. Low-cost alternative technologies exist and further innovation is necessary to devise the most appropriate solutions for different contexts. Alternative technologies may be useful in providing access in an efficient manner, in the short to medium term, to those parts of the population living in remote rural areas or informal urban settlements. Some of these alternative technologies will be low cost, others might be higher cost but more sustainable and thus a better investment over time. These options should be carefully examined to __________________ 59 60 61 16 UNICEF, “Equity fact sheet: MDG 7”. Available from www.childinfo.org/files/MDG7.pdf. UN-Water Global Annual Assessment, p. 30. Sophie Trémolet, Pete Kolsky and Eddy Perez, Financing On-site Sanitation for the Poor: A Six Country Comparative Review and Analysis (Washington, D.C., World Bank Water and Sanitation Programme, January 2010). 11-44364