ABSTRACT
Securing access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation facilities for all people irrespective of their social background or economic status remains an elusive goal for many governments despite the numerous global initiatives to address these challenges. The United Nations first declared 1981 – 1990 as the International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade. Further commitment to address water-related disparities came in a collective decision to make water supply, sanitation and hygiene one of the targeted areas in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). More recently, the time period 2005 – 2015 has been declared the ‘Water for Life1’ International Decade for Action. These efforts, while successful in shining the global spotlight on water, have unfortunately not fully succeeded in providing universal coverage across and within countries.
