Access to safe drinking-water is essential to health, a basic human right and a component of effective policy for health protection. The importance of water, sanitation and hygiene for health and development has been reflected in the outcomes of a series of international policy forums. This includes, most recently, the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals by countries, in 2015, which include a target and indicator on safe drinking-water. Further, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly declared in 2010 that safe and clean drinking-water and sanitation is a human right, essential to the full enjoyment of life and all other human rights. These commitments build on a long history of support including the UN General Assembly adopting the Millennium Development Goals in 2000 and declaring the period 2005–2015 as the International Decade for Action, "Water for Life". Access to safe drinking-water is important as a health and development issue at national, regional and local levels. In some regions, it has been shown that investments in water supply and sanitation can yield a net economic benefit, because the reductions in adverse health effects and health-care costs outweigh the costs of undertaking the interventions. This is true for investments ranging from major water supply infrastructure through to water treatment in the home. Experience has also shown that interventions in improving access to safe water favour the poor in particular, whether in rural or urban areas, and can be an effective part of poverty alleviation strategies. (Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality, Fourth Edition, WHO). Access to safe drinking-water is essential to health, a basic human right and a component of effective policy for health protection. The importance of water, sanitation and hygiene for health and development has been reflected in the outcomes of a series of international policy forums. This includes, most recently, the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals by countries, in 2015, which include a target and indicator on safe drinking-water. Further, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly declared in 2010 that safe and clean drinking-water and sanitation is a human right, essential to the full enjoyment of life and all other human rights. These commitments build on a long history of support including the UN General Assembly adopting the Millennium Development Goals in 2000 and declaring the period 2005–2015 as the International Decade for Action, "Water for Life". Access to safe drinking-water is important as a health and development issue at national, regional and local levels. In some regions, it has been shown that investments in water supply and sanitation can yield a net economic benefit, because the reductions in adverse health effects and health-care costs outweigh the costs of undertaking the interventions. This is true for investments ranging from major water supply infrastructure through to water treatment in the home. Experience has also shown that interventions in improving access to safe water favour the poor in particular, whether in rural or urban areas, and can be an effective part of poverty alleviation strategies. (Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality, Fourth Edition, WHO).
Chapter 1 With
Access to safe drinking-water is essential to health, a basic human right and a component of effective policy for health protection.
The importance of water, sanitation and hygiene for health and development has been reflected in the outcomes of a series of international policy forums. This includes, most recently, the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals by countries, in 2015, which include a target and indicator on safe drinking-water. Further, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly declared in 2010 that safe and clean drinking-water and sanitation is a human right, essential to the full enjoyment of life and all other human rights. These commitments build on a long history of support including the UN General Assembly adopting the Millennium Development Goals in 2000 and declaring the period 2005–2015 as the International Decade for Action, "Water for Life".
Access to safe drinking-water is important as a health and development issue at national, regional and local levels. In some regions, it has been shown that investments in water supply and sanitation can yield a net economic benefit, because the reductions in adverse health effects and health-care costs outweigh the costs of undertaking the interventions. This is true for investments ranging from major water supply infrastructure through to water treatment in the home. Experience has also shown that interventions in improving access to safe water favour the poor in particular, whether in rural or urban areas, and can be an effective part of poverty alleviation strategies. (Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality, Fourth Edition, WHO).
Access to safe drinking-water is essential to health, a basic human right and a component of effective policy for health protection.
The importance of water, sanitation and hygiene for health and development has been reflected in the outcomes of a series of international policy forums. This includes, most recently, the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals by countries, in 2015, which include a target and indicator on safe drinking-water. Further, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly declared in 2010 that safe and clean drinking-water and sanitation is a human right, essential to the full enjoyment of life and all other human rights. These commitments build on a long history of support including the UN General Assembly adopting the Millennium Development Goals in 2000 and declaring the period 2005–2015 as the International Decade for Action, "Water for Life".
Access to safe drinking-water is important as a health and development issue at national, regional and local levels. In some regions, it has been shown that investments in water supply and sanitation can yield a net economic benefit, because the reductions in adverse health effects and health-care costs outweigh the costs of undertaking the interventions. This is true for investments ranging from major water supply infrastructure through to water treatment in the home. Experience has also shown that interventions in improving access to safe water favour the poor in particular, whether in rural or urban areas, and can be an effective part of poverty alleviation strategies. (Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality, Fourth Edition, WHO).