A/66/255
sanitation.6 The target for water is on track, but progress remains shaky. If achieved,
at least 672 million people throughout the world will continue to lack access to
improved water sources 7 and the number of people without access to safe water
would undoubtedly be much higher since current data do not include measurements
of water quality or affordability. Invariably, it is the most marginalized and excluded
populations which will continue to be without access; sadly, the progress made
towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals has not resulted in
significant changes for people living in poverty.
10. In her report to the General Assembly at its sixty-fifth session (A/65/254), the
Special Rapporteur explained how the normative content of the rights to water and
sanitation can support the achievement of target 7.C of the Millennium
Development Goals in a more comprehensive, accountable, participatory,
non-discriminatory and sustainable manner. She now stresses that, while the Goals
provide concrete development benchmarks, a human rights perspective highlights
legally binding obligations and envisions universal, equitable and affordable access.
11. Irrespective of whether the focus is on development goals or human rights, the
reality is that, at current funding levels and with current spending patterns, there are
not enough resources available to attain either. One study estimates that achieving
universal access to water and sanitation by 2015 implies an annual cost of
US$ 16.58 billion but notes that this figure is probably an underestimate. 8
Concerning the Millennium Development Goal targets, funding for the water and
sanitation sector must increase significantly, perhaps even double, if target 7.C is to
be met by 2015. 9 By various estimates, the global cost of meeting the 2015 targets
ranges between US$ 6.7 billion to US$ 75 billion annually, depending on factors
such as baseline years, population growth and distribution, costs of technology, and
whether cost estimates include the costs of new infrastructure, operation and
maintenance and/or of building institutional capacity to sustain access. 10 At the
national level, it has been estimated that, at a minimum, States should aim to spend
1 per cent of gross domestic product on water and sanitation. 11
12. Contrasting with these substantial costs, the reality is that neither governments
nor donors are committing sufficient resources to water and sanitation services. In
2008, the total international aid commitment to water and sanitation was just
US$ 7.4 billion, or 5 per cent of all reported international aid. 12 Compared to
spending on health and education, the proportion of international aid devoted to
water and sanitation has dwindled over the past decade, 13 even though investments
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8
9
10
11
12
13
11-44364
Ibid., p. 9.
WHO and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), “Economic and health effects of
increasing the coverage of low-cost household drinking water supply and sanitation
interventions” (WHO/SDE/WSH/07/05), pp. 21 and 22. Available from
www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/economic/mdg10_offtrack.pdf.
World Water Council, Third World Water Forum and Global Water Partnership, Financing Water
for All: Report of the World Panel on Financing Water Infrastructure (March 2003), foreword.
Available from www.financingwaterforall.org/index.php?id=1098.
UN-Water Global Annual Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-water 2010: Targeting
Resources for Better Results (Geneva, World Health Organization, March 2010), p. 20. Available
from www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/glaas/en/.
UNDP, Human Development Report 2006: Beyond Scarcity — Power, Poverty and the Global
Water Crisis (New York, 2006), p. 9.
UN-Water Global Annual Assessment, p. 14.
Ibid., p. 15.
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