Water & Sanitation

Access to clean water and effective sanitation has a catalytic effect on many aspects of human development, being essential for a healthy population and environmental sustainability.

The UN's 2006 Human Development Report estimated that 1.1 billion people do not have access to clean water and 2.6 billion suffer from inadequate sanitation. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 88 per cent of diarrhoeal disease is attributed to unsafe water supply, inadequate sanitation and hygiene. High incidence of vector-borne disease, intestinal disease, trachoma, and arsenic poisoning in developing countries is strongly correlated with unsanitary practices and the absence of nearby sources of safe water.

A significant number of countries in Australia's region, including Papua New Guinea, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia and East Timor appear unlikely to achieve Millennium Development Goal (MDG7, target 10) Target 10, which aims to halve the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015, relative to 1990 levels. Globally, two-thirds of those without reliable access to clean water live in the Asia-Pacific region; and of the region's 3.8 billion people, over half do not have access to sanitation.

Progress toward sanitation goals in particular is lagging behind other MDG targets. The United Nations has underlined the importance of this issue, declaring 2008 the International Year for Sanitation.

Australian response

The Australian Government has recognised the importance of water and sanitation and will increase development assistance in this sector by $300 million from 2008/09 to 2010/11.

Australia will work with developing country governments, private and non-government entities, and bilateral and multilateral development agencies to improve access to clean water and effective sanitation in urban, peri-urban and rural areas, and improve water security by protecting freshwater sources. In recognition of the slower progress in achieving sanitation goals, there will be a significant emphasis on sanitation service provision and hygiene behaviour change.

The urban water and sanitation component of the initiative will deliver efficient and sustainable water supply and sanitation infrastructure, especially for the poor in the rapidly growing urban and peri-urban areas of the Asia-Pacific region. It will also support policy reform, promote good practice water utility models, improve the capacity of the public and private sectors to plan and implement infrastructure, and promote improved hygiene.

The rural water and sanitation component of the initiative will develop improved rural water supply and sanitation infrastructure, including for small rural towns. Community-based models and improved hygiene will be promoted to ensure sustainability and maximise the impacts of new water and sanitation services. Enhanced partnerships with multilateral agencies such as the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) will support efforts to minimise risks to water quality from industrial and agricultural pollution.

The water security component of the initiative will extend successful partnerships in the Asia-Pacific region to protect and better manage freshwater resources. Partnerships in the Pacific will strengthen water planning and management, enhance access to safe drinking water, increase water conservation and storage capacity, and enhance sanitation and solid and hazardous waste management to prevent contamination of water. This component will also continue partnerships with multilateral agencies, such as the World Health Organisation, to develop safe water plans, and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and other partners to develop innovative solutions for water security.

The initiative will target partner countries in the Asia-Pacific region that experience serious deficits in access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation, or face critical challenges in protecting freshwater sources. The initiative will benefit the urban and rural poor through better access to safe water and sanitation and more predictable water supplies for economic activities.

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