Water and Sanitation

In rural areas of Papua New Guinea, nine out of every 10 persons do not have access to potable water.

The total renewable water resources available per person in Papua New Guinea is around 170 thousand cubic meters - an amount considered to be very high compared to most countries. Despite this abundance of raw water, access to safe drinking water is quite low. In rural areas, where 87 percent of the population lives, only nine percent of water is potable while the mean for the entire country stands at 17 percent. Most rural households depend on unsafe water from rivers, springs, ponds, lakes or dams. Only 39 percent of rural households have access to a latrine, while the mean for the country is 45 percent. With the foregoing picture, it is not surprising that diarrhea and worm infestations are a common cause of illness, malnutrition and deaths in Papua New Guinean children.

UNICEF supports activities to expand access to safe water and sanitation by:

Providing safe water and sanitation facilities to schools as part of the child friendly school competencies
Advocating for and mobilizing access to safe water to communities
Supporting participatory hygiene and sanitation transformation among communities
Supporting hygiene education as well as rapid provision of safe water in emergency situations to prevent epidemic outbreaks
Promoting technologically appropriate and cost effective approaches to effective water sanitation monitoring framework
Promoting sustainable and community-owned strategic approaches to water supply and hygiene programmes
Expanding partnerships with development agencies, NGOs and communities to increase demand for and participation in water and sanitation initiatives at community level
Promoting hygiene education and improved sanitary practices in schools and communities.

Pit latrines like this can contribute positively to avoiding many preventable diseases.

With these actions, the following impacts are realized:

Communities that are aware of the relationship of hygiene and sanitation to the prevailing disease burden in communities
Communities and children that are healthier, and less vulnerable to suffering from diarrhea, worm infestations and other water-borne diseases
Greater time saving for women and families availing more time for other productive activities
Effective gender-balanced community participation and decision-making in planning, implementation, management, operation and maintenance of water supply and sanitation services
Greater policy level attention and progress towards achieving MDG 7, relating to access to safe water
Greater focus on utilization and sustainability of services, not just coverage.