A young girl collects water from a tanker truck in an IDP camp in northwest Syria.
Meanwhile, the UN commemorates the anniversary of the Human Rights Declaration to Water & Sanitation on July 28th. Credit: UNICEF/Khaled Akacha

By Catarina de Albuquerque
LISBON, Portugal, Jul 28 2021 (IPS)

The water we drink and the air we breathe are the basis of life. With universal access to clean water and sanitation, we will be healthier, our economies will be stronger, gender equality will be more achievable, and more children will stay in school.

However, the many benefits of universal access to water, sanitation and hygiene are under threat from unfair political decisions that have often left the poorest in urban and rural areas paying more for off-grid water and sanitation than people with formal access to these services in their homes.

Already two billion people, or 1 in 4, don’t have access to safely managed drinking water in their homes, nearly half the world’s population lack safely managed sanitation, and 2.3 billion people can’t wash their hands at home. Indeed, daily access to water and sanitation is a distant aspiration for much of the world population, especially for women, girls and the most marginalized and vulnerable families and communities.

So how can we ensure everyone on the planet has access to water and sanitation by 2030?

We must first address one of the most fundamental barriers to progress: poor governance that has blocked progress towards universal access, and driven an increase in service inequalities in many countries.

Water and sanitation are human rights, meaning that access to these services must be affordable and not compromise the ability to pay for other essential needs. And people are prepared to pay a fair and affordable price for safe and reliable water and sanitation services, which are so critical for hydration, personal hygiene, cleaning, and cooking.

Yet for many people, the price of access to an affordable, convenient, safe water source is simply unaffordable. In some countries, people can spend as much as half of their income on water, a resource so many of us take for granted.

In high- and low-income countries alike, those in middle and higher income households pay relatively low tariffs for piped water, while those living in slums aren’t connected by the authorities to the formal network.

These communities often have no choice but to queue for hours to get their water from tanker trucks or street vendors, paying up to 100 times more for water of unverifiable quality and safety.

More unfairly, large agricultural and industrial water users, which use over 90 percent of existing freshwater, sometimes have access to subsidized water prices and actually pay less than individuals.

When the poorest people end up paying more for water and sanitation than everyone else this hinders human development and obviously exacerbates the inequalities that leave huge sections of the global population behind in their access to a productive, dignified and healthy life, including to water, sanitation and hygiene.

In the absence of official water services, people (mostly women and girls) will often collect dirty, contaminated water from streams, ponds and unprotected wells, and they will pay an exorbitant price with their health, time and productivity.

The economic losses associated with inadequate services is estimated at US$260 billion annually, roughly equivalent to an average annual loss of 1.5% of global Gross Domestic Product.

If all those who could afford it paid fair water and sanitation prices, and the money was invested properly in expanding and improving services, it would lift people out of a negative cycle of poverty and ensure that women have more time to reach their social and economic potential.

In the end, there is no healthy economy without a healthy population where everyone can enjoy their rights to water and sanitation. It would also be beneficial for the economy and for businesses.

Investing in water and sanitation systems is a no-brainer opportunity to serve a huge market, while benefiting both households and service providers.

A recent study shows that access to toilets with safely managed sanitation could yield up to $86 billion per year in greater productivity and reduced health costs; basic hygiene facilities could mean an extra $45 billion per year; and taps in the home could equate to an annual return of $37 billion globally.

So, where do we start? Firstly, governments need to lift the existing legal and political barriers and extend water and sewerage services to slums and informal settlements to ensure a reliable and constant water supply, permanent handwashing facilities, adequate toilets and safe disposal of human waste.

Governments should also invest the necessary resources in making access to water and sanitation a reality for those living in rural communities. We need the political will and the political wisdom from those in power to look at the situation in a holistic manner, and make sure that those who have been left off the formal grid can get connected, independently of their tenure status. Human rights are human rights.

Next, governments should implement fair tariff structures that charge higher-income households and agricultural or industrial users more for water and sanitation to generate the necessary revenue to bring fairly priced and affordable services to those most in need.

Higher prices for big users would also force a reduction in water consumption. These measures would have immeasurable benefits for all the people that have no choice but to queue at a communal water pump to get water for the family, or share a public toilet with many families.

Everyone, everywhere needs to be able to access water and sanitation for a fair price. It’s not only the right thing to do, but also vital for creating jobs, boosting business, and reducing the long-term burden put on government budgets.

And it’s within reach, if we have the political will to make it happen.

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Credit: UN Water

By Catarina de Albuquerque
LISBON, Mar 21 2021 (IPS)

This World Water Day, we celebrate the value of water, which at first might be a given: after all, water is the basis of all life. Without water we have no health, wealth, equality, or education.

But, do governments adequately prioritize and invest in clean water? The answer, in far too many parts of the world, is a resounding no. As an international community, we are too often blind to the huge cost of failing to serve so many people with the most basic but crucial of services.

Globally, there are still 2.2 billion people without access to safe drinking water and 4.2 billion who don’t have a safe place to go the toilet. Reaching all these people needs three times the current levels of investment, according to the World Bank — to meet the scale of the challenge. However, this is not a plea for charity, this is a wake-up call.

The current global water and sanitation crisis is a story of colossal, rapidly increasing, unmet demand leading to colossal, rapidly increasing costs. Meeting Sustainable Development Goal 6 – water and sanitation for all by 2030 – is not a burden but a massive opportunity.

To find concrete solutions to the financing gap, the partnership Sanitation and Water for All – a global platform for achieving the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)-related targets — is working with Finance Ministers across the globe to focus on the opportunity for economic growth and sustainable development, through the expansion of water and sanitation services.

With the right level of investment, benefits could include an estimated 1.5% growth in gross domestic product, and a $4.30 return for every dollar invested. This is due to the likely reduced health care costs and potential for increased productivity. That’s a rate of return that any investor would wish for.

The benefits of investing are clear and examples abound. In 1961, only 17% of South Korea had access to basic drinking water but by 2012, water coverage stood at 98% – a remarkable turnaround. High-level political leadership was key, as part of a wider push towards nation-building, common well-being and modernity.

Bolivian Girls Washing Hands. Credit: UNICEF

The cost of not investing

Affordable, reliable, easily accessible water and sanitation services prevent thousands of children from preventable diseases, such as diarrhea and cholera. Healthier children absorb nutrients properly, develop stronger brains and bodies, get better school results, and end up making a fuller contribution to society. And we have seen how quickly a pandemic like COVID-19 can spread when people are not able to wash their hands with water and soap.

Without further investment, girls and women are forced to continue the time-consuming, back-breaking work of fetching water, and are left exposed to the indignity and dangers of going to the toilet in fields and streets. Water and sanitation services in schools and workplaces have the power to ensure girls and women can manage their personal hygiene while not missing out on obtaining an education or earning an income.

Adequate investment would reduce disease burden and epidemic risks, and slow down fast-moving killers such as cholera. Improved hygiene — through water and soap — is critical in the fight against COVID-19, for example. Yet one in four — 24% — of health care facilities lack basic water services, one in ten — 10% — have no sanitation service, and one in three — 32% — lack hand hygiene facilities at points of care. Data has shown that even where there is adequate WASH facilities, frontline health care workers can be 12-times more likely to test positive for COVID-19 compared with individuals in the general community.

Unless further investments are made, the level of workforce productivity will be capped. An estimated three out of four jobs that make up the global workforce are either heavily or moderately dependent on water. But, access to water and sanitation can also free up time that would otherwise be spent collecting water. UN-Water estimates that improved sanitation gives every household an additional 1,000 hours a year to work, study, care for children, and so on. Women’s productivity is particularly affected, as they are the main caretakers and manager and users of water.

The bottom line is that economic growth rests on improving educational achievement and public health — two things that are impossible without access to water.

The role of finance decision-makers

None of this is news. Since the early days of the industrial revolution, we have known the transformative economic and social benefits of access to water, and the horrific consequences of inaction.

If governments fail to help prioritize water and sanitation, the consequences could affect societies for generations. Financial decision-makers must create an enabling environment by investing in institutions and people, and mobilizing new sources of finance, such as taxes, tariffs, transfers, or repayable finance.

In the end, well-resourced, well-run water systems are catalysts for progress in every sector from gender, food, and education, to health, industry, and the environment.

Governments must use evidence to make smart decisions that will help their countries flourish. In the case of water and sanitation, the evidence is clear: continuing to neglect these services will only continue to stunt the growth of our economies, populations, and societies.

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