Safe water and adequate sanitation are basic to the health of every person on the planet yet many people throughout the world do not have access to these fundamental needs. An important step towards resolving this global crisis is to understand its magnitude: how many people lack access to drinking water and sanitation? To help answer this question household surveys and censuses are conducted every year throughout the world to assess drinking water sanitation and hygiene-related practices at the household level. Because of variations in survey tools attempts to compare the results of one survey with those of another have been fraught with diffi culties. Solving survey comparability problems is crucial if we are to establish accurate trends over time within a country and compare data between countries. For this reason the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation developed a set of harmonized survey questions that resolves the comparability problems of the past. Including the harmonized questions in national surveys and censuses will help countries gain more systematic information on the drinking water and sanitation needs of thei population. With popular use these harmonized questions will make data across international and national survey programmes more comparable which in turn will result in more accurate country regional and global estimates of unmet drinking water and sanitation needs. The core harmonized questions presented in this guide have been adopted by the Demographic and Health Surveys the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey and the World Health Survey. The purpose of this guide is to encourage even more widespread use of these harmonized questions because accurate information is a valuable tool that can be used to assess progress towards international and national goals and targets. It also allows decision-makers and stakeholders to make evidence-based choices and direct efforts to where they are needed as well as promotes increased investment in the sector.

Despite significant progress in water and sanitation much still remains to be done. This report shows how the world has changed since 1990. It provides an assessment of progress towards the MDG target and insight into the remaining challenges. Section A provides an overview of progress against the parameters specified in the MDG target for water and sanitation in both urban and rural areas. It presents data for the world as a whole and compares progress across regions. The report goes on to examine trends over the MDG period by region and by level of service. It pays particular attention to the numbers of people who have gained the highest level of service in drinking water supply - piped water on premises - and those with no service at all who use surface water for drinking and practice open defecation. In order to understand the nature of progress it is important to look carefully at the way improvements in water and sanitation have benefited different socioeconomic groups. This report sheds light on equality gaps between urban and rural dwellers and between the richest and poorest segments of the population. It presents several new ways to visualize progress on extending service to the poor designed to reveal the nature of inequalities and give the reader insight into the great challenge that still exists in ensuring that progress reaches everyone. The JMP was established in 1990 and is celebrating its Jubilee Year in 2015. Section B provides a retrospective analysis of the evolution of water sanitation and hygiene monitoring over the past 25 years.

There is growing acceptance that the progress delivered under the Millennium Development Goal target for drinking water and sanitation has been inequitable. As a result, the progressive reduction of inequalities is now an explicit focus of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets, adopted in 2015, for universal access to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). This shift in focus has implications for the way in which the next generation of WASH policies and programmes will be conceived, designed, financed and monitored. This book provides an authoritative textbook for students, as well as a point of reference for policy-makers and practitioners interested in reducing inequalities in access to WASH services. Four key areas are addressed: background to the human right to water and development goals; dimensions of inequality; case studies in delivering water and sanitation equitably; and monitoring progress in reducing inequality.

The problems related to the process of industrialisation such as biodiversity depletion, climate change and a worsening of health and living conditions, especially but not only in developing countries, intensify. Therefore, there is an increasing need to search for integrated solutions to make development more sustainable. The United Nations has acknowledged the problem and approved the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. On 1st January 2016, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the Agenda officially came into force. These goals cover the three dimensions of sustainable development: economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection. The Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals comprehensively addresses the SDGs in an integrated way. It encompasses 17 volumes, each devoted to one of the 17 SDGs. This volume is dedicated to SDG 6 "Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all". Water and sanitation are fundamental to human well-being. Integrated water resources management is essential to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all and to the realization of Sustainable Development. Concretely, the defined targets are: Achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all Achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations Improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally Substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity and substantially reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity Implement integrated water resources management at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation as appropriate Protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes Expand international cooperation and capacity-building support to developing countries in water- and sanitation-related activities and programmes, including water harvesting, desalination, water efficiency, wastewater treatment, recycling and reuse technologies Support and strengthen the participation of local communities in improving Uwater and sanitation management Editorial Board Ulisses M. Azeiteiro, Anabela Marisa Azul, Luciana Brandli, Dominique Darmendrail, Despo Fatta–Kassinos, Walter Leal Filho, Susan Hegarty, Amanda Lange Salvia, Albert Llausàs, Paula Duarte Lopes, Javier Marugán, Fernando Morgado, Wilkister Nyaora Moturi, Karel F. Mulder, Alesia Dedaa Ofori, Sandra Ricart

This guidebook provides practical tips and resources for conducting quality socioeconomic surveys to enhance the effectiveness of urban development and water projects. It explains the importance of high-quality socioeconomic surveys to strengthen project design, ensure robust due diligence, and inform evidence-based policies. Focusing on urban development and water projects, the guidebook discusses common mistakes made with socioeconomic surveys and provides good practices for implementing high quality face-to-face and digital surveys. It includes a standardized set of annotated questionnaires that consist of basic questions as well as expanded questions that enable a more robust understanding of project impacts.