In order for the Millennium Development Goal related to drinking water and sanitation to be met by 2015, 961 million urban dwellers must gain access to improved water supply, and 1 billion to improved sanitation. (WWAP – Facts and Figures)
Due to rapid urbanisation between 1990 and 2008 the urban population not using improved sanitation increased by 260 million (WHO/UN-Water, 2010)
8 out of 10 people without safe water live in rural areas. (WHO/UNICEF 2010)
Poor people living in slums often pay 5–10 times more per litre of water than wealthy people living in the same city. (UNDP 2006, p.21)
In areas poorly served with water and sanitation, the child mortality rate is multiplied by 10 or 20 compared to areas with adequate water and sanitation services. (WWAP – Facts and Figures)
Of the approximately 1.3 billion people who gained access to improved sanitation during the period 1990-2008, 64% live in urban areas. (WHO/UNICEF 2010)
2.5 billion people, don’t have access to a toilet. (Water.org)
The provision of improved sanitation and drinking-water could reduce diarrhoeal diseases by nearly 90% (WHO/UN-Water, 2010)
Improvements in sanitation and drinking-water could reduce the number of children who die each year by 2.2 million (WHO/UN-Water, 2010)