World Bank says world still failing on water issues

New analysis by the World Bank shows that the world is still failing to achieve on its Millennium Development Goals for water.

One target of the Millennium Development Goals is to halve the proportion of the population without access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015. However, while the world met the water goal five years ahead of schedule, access to sanitation is still lagging behind.

Although there has been progress in the expansion of water and sanitation services, 780 million people across the globe still live without access to improved water sources, and 2.5 billion lack access to safe sanitation. Only 63 percent of the world’s population now has improved sanitation access, a figure projected to increase only to 67 percent by 2015, well below the 75 percent aim in the Millennium Development Goals.

In World Bank client countries, access to improved water sources increased from 73 percent in 1990 to 86.4 percent in 2010, and access to improved sanitation from 42 percent to 56.3 percent.

Improving utilities' performance is crucial 

Even those with access to water and sanitation often have to cope with poor service. The World Bank says that improving utilities’ performance is crucial to ensure continuous service and lower levels of leakage, which affect both the quality and quantity of water available to end-users and the utility's financial sustainability.

Social and financial considerations must also be addressed in the design, planning, and implementation of water and sanitation policies and facilities to keep services affordable for the poorest.

Looking forward, the Bank says these challenges will be exacerbated by growing competition for water resources as urban areas and populations grow, land use changes, and climate change increases -  all issues at the core of the water-energy-food nexus. 

The World Bank Group is the world’s largest external source of finance for water-related interventions. The total International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and International Development Association (IDA) financing approved for water supply and sanitation in the past five years (2008-12) was US$17.5 billion. 

The World Bank’s approach is focussed on delivering development results via a wide range of financial solutions and tailoring the Bank’s operations to the needs and capacities of specific countries. For example, emergency loans provided in post-conflict or post-disaster situations help affected countries’ institutions to rehabilitate critical infrastructure and respond to basic needs. In other countries, and with the ultimate goal to serve more people with sustainable water and sanitation services, Bank support is focused on longer-term efforts to strengthen institutional capacities, including at decentralized level, and promote sustainable utilities.

Bank is looking for innovative solutions to address water-energy-food nexus

The Bank also seeks to provide innovative solutions to complex situations for example, with support from the Water Partnership Program (WPP), the Bank has championed the innovative Integrated Urban Water Management (IUWM) approach that was piloted in seven cities in Latin America over the last three years through investments and technical support. An IUWM approach was also recently used in Azerbaijan and is currently being piloted in Kenya. IUWM was the focus of the 2012 World Bank’s flagship report for the water sector.

Other successes include the Ho Chi Minh City Environmental Sanitation Project in Vietnam (FY2002-2012) which provided better sanitation conditions to 1.2 million people, and reduced the risk of flooding for 400,000 people. The lessons learned from a technically complex and challenging project are now being applied to other drainage basins in the country, showcasing successful capacity building in urban water management. The Karnataka Urban Water Improvement Project in India (FY2004-2011) was path breaking in demonstrating that 24/7 water delivery could be a reality in urban India. The project supported the installation of water mains with 24/7 supply in five urban demonstration zones, supplying 230,000 people directly, quickly gaining strong satisfaction and support from end-users. The revenue from billing covered and even exceeded the costs for O&M and bulk water delivery—a rarity for India.

Ongoing projects include the Morocco Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project (FY2006-2015), where IBRD is supporting the government program to increase sustainable access to potable water supply in rural areas, while promoting improved wastewater management and hygiene practices.

New Water Vision to guide upcoming World Bank investments

The World Bank is a leading contributor to the international dialogue on water and sanitation and is widely acknowledged for its ability to leverage funding.  At regional and global level, The Bank engages in initiatives such as the World Water Forum to share knowledge and experience on access to water for all, finance for water, or water and green growth. It also has built on its convening power to advocate for increased aid effectiveness and urgency to tackle the sanitation challenge. 

The Bank is currently developing a Water Vision, which will guide its upcoming investments and knowledge dissemination.  At the core of the Vision is the impetus for the Bank’s water practice to work increasingly across sectors, both in investments and through analytical and advisory services, to ensure that all relevant projects address water sustainability issues on a holistic basis.

All future water investments will systematically consider how they address financial and environmental sustainability, poverty, gender, and climate risk. The Bank will aim to be a convener on problems of global significance, for instance through its work on Integrated Urban Water Management or stronger engagement in sanitation and wastewater.