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News Note

UNICEF: On World Water Day, poor rural people missing out

NEW DELHI, 22 March 2012 As the world commemorates World Water Day, UNICEF called on

governments to pay particular attention to those living in rural areas who are being left behind in

their countries' progress, especially with regard to access to safe drinking water and basic

sanitation.

Two weeks ago a UNICEF and World Health Organization report showed conclusively that poor

people in rural areas are overwhelmingly those without these most basic necessities for life.

"Governments must make sure that their resources achieve real results for the poorest people,

said Sanjay Wijesekera, UNICEF's chief of water, sanitation and hygiene. Otherwise they risk

leaving large portions of their populations, particularly children, increasingly vulnerable to disease."

The report,Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation 2012, says the world met the Millennium

Development Goal target for drinking water at the end of 2010, when 89 per cent of the worlds

population, or 6.1 billion people, used improved drinking water sources.

However, it says that rural dwellers are several times more likely than their urban counterparts to

be without access to safe drinking water. According to the report, globally there is an almost

universal disparity of access to safe drinking water in rural areas compared to urban areas.

Of the 783 million people still without improved sources of drinking water in 2010, 653 million are

from rural areas. The picture even worse for sanitation, where globally, 79 per cent of the urban

population use an improved sanitation facility compared to 47 per cent of the rural population.

Fully 72 per cent of those without access to improved sanitation, or 1.8 billion people, live in rural

areas.

UNICEF says the rural-urban divide for safe drinking water is particularly acute in poorer countries.

In sub-Saharan Africa the gap between urban and rural is 34 percentage points. On average in

Least Developed Countries, ninety-seven out of every 100 rural dwellers do not have piped water

on premises.

Overwhelmingly, it is women and girls who are bearing the brunt of the water burden, UNICEF

says. Surveys conducted in 25 countries in sub-Saharan Africa found that in 71 per cent of all

households without water on the premises women or girls are mainly responsible for water

collection. Each household typically requires at least one trip a day, and often more, for water

collection. It is estimated that women spend a combined total of at least 16 million hours each day

collecting drinking water; men spend 6 million hours; and children, 4 million hours.

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Safe drinking water must reach everyone, says Wijesekera. We cannot celebrate progress until

those who are hardest to reach can also turn on a tap, or go to a well or pump and get enough safe

drinking water for their daily needs.

About UNICEF

UNICEF works in 190 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from earlychildhood through adolescence. The worlds largest provider of vaccines for developing countries,

UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for

all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is

funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and

governments. For more information about UNICEF and its work visit: www.unicef.org

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For media queries and more information:

Caroline den Dulk, Chief, Advocacy & Partnerships, Tel: +91-98-1810-6093

E-mail:cdendulk@unicef.org

Geetanjali Master, Communication Specialist, Tel: +91-9818105861,

E-mail: gmaster@unicef.org

Sonia Sarkar, Communication Officer, Tel : +91-9810170289

E-mail : ssarkar@unicef.org

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