A/66/255 International has estimated that corruption could increase the cost of meeting Millennium Development Goal target 7.C by 2015 by nearly US$ 50 billion. 102 C. No measurement of individual contributions 72. As explained above, individual and household contributions play a significant role in the expansion and improvement of access to water and sanitation. The Human Development Report cited the case of China which has seen rapid progress in access to sanitation in rural areas, with 70 per cent of financing for these improvements coming from households. 103 The value of these contributions is, however, rarely factored into State assessments of costs. 73. It is exceedingly difficult to track these contributions and factor them into overall planning and budgeting. While tariffs for water and sanitation services will be relatively easy to monitor, the amount that households spend to build and maintain their access is more difficult, especially in cases of non-networked services. A human rights analysis requires consideration of these costs as they impact the affordability of water and sanitation. This information is essential for understanding which segments of the population require which kind of assistance in order to ensure their access to water and sanitation. The significant level of household contributions often required for gaining or maintaining access to water and sanitation can function as a barrier for people living in poverty. V. Conclusions and recommendations 74. The present report has reviewed various challenges in financing access to water and sanitation for the realization of these human rights. Ensuring water and sanitation for all will require considerably more resources to extend sustainable access to the billions of people who still lack access. Beyond the need for additional resources, however, existing resources must also be better targeted to prioritize the most excluded and marginalized. More transparent budgets and better coordination will also assist in acquiring a more complete understanding of the resources available to tackle the water and sanitation crisis. 75. Based on the findings of the present report, the Special Rapporteur recommends that States: (a) Prioritize funding, both in the national budget and for official development assistance, for water and sanitation with a particular focus on extending access to the unserved or under-served. This should include measures to identify the most marginalized, excluded and disadvantaged populations in terms of access to water and sanitation and specific initiatives to improve their situation; (b) Ensure that household contributions, whether tariffs or other forms of contributions, remain affordable, including by establishing supplementary __________________ 102 103 24 Global Corruption Report 2008: Corruption in the Water Sector (New York, Cambridge University Press, 2008), p. 10. Available from www.transparency.org/publications/gcr/gcr_2008. UNDP, Human Development Report 2006, p. 128. 11-44364

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