As the world approaches 2015, it becomes increasingly important to identify who are being left behind and to focus on the challenges of addressing their needs. This report presents some striking disparities: the gap between progress in providing access to drinking-water versus sanitation; the divide between urban and rural populations in terms of the services provided; differences in the way different regions are performing, bearing in mind that they started from different baselines; and disparities between different socioeconomic strata in society.
Each JMP report assesses the situation and trends anew and so this JMP report supersedes previous reports. The information presented in this report includes data from household surveys and censuses completed during the period 2007-2008. It also incorporates datasets from earlier surveys and censuses that have become available to JMP since the publication of the previous JMP report in 2008. In total, data from around 300 surveys and censuses covering the period 1985 – 2008, has been added to the JMP database.
The updated estimates for 2008, 2000 and 1990 are given in the statistical table starting on page 38. This table for the first time shows the number of people who gained access to improved sanitation and drinking-water sources in the period 1990-2008. It is important to note that the data in this report do not yet reflect the efforts of the International Year of Sanitation 2008, which mobilized renewed support around the world to stop the practice of open defecation and to promote the use of latrines and toilets.