September 28, 2006 : India on Track to Meet its MDG Water Target. Sanitation Lagging Behind.New Delhi September 28th 2006. According to the Progress for Children: A Report Card on Water and Sanitation launched today by UNICEF, India is on track to meet its 2015 MDG target on water, but sanitation remains a cause for concern. This report card, a fifth in a UNICEF series that monitors progress for children towards the MDGs, measures the world’s performance in water and sanitation. Between the years 1990 and 2004, approximately 445 million people in South Asia gained access to improved drinking water of which 88% are from India and Pakistan. Yet in many areas in South Asia including India, naturally occurring arsenic and fluoride contamination are threatening to reverse the gains made in providing improved drinking water. Although considerable progress has been made in the last few years, evidence shows that approximately a third of India’s population has access to improved sanitation facilities. The reason for this is that in 1990 only 3% of the rural population in India had access to improved sanitation facilities in which case the starting point for improvement was low. The pace will have to be considerably accelerated if the country is to meet its MDG target of 57% sanitation coverage. This low level of basic sanitation is one of India’s biggest public health threats and is linked to the high rate of under five mortality of 85 deaths per 1000 due to diarrhoea and other diseases. Water and sanitation related illnesses can also affect children’s school attendance. Girls in particular may be deterred from schooling by the need to fetch and carry water for their families and by the lack of sanitation facilities. Clean water and sanitation are vital prerequisites for improved nutrition, reduction in child and maternal mortality and the fight against disease. Improved sanitation facilities could reduce diarrhoea related diseases that claim more than 1.5 million lives under five globally The report also brings to attention the disparities in access to water and sanitation in terms of the urban – rural divide, the economic disparities and the gender gap where women and girls bare the brunt of poor water, sanitation and hygiene.
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