Achieving the millennium development goals for water and sanitation : what will it take? : interim full report

The five questions dealt with in this report are: why do water and sanitation require urgent action; where are the greatest needs what is holding us back; what are the essential components of action; and who needs to act. It also sketches out those actions needed to manage water as a resource to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as a whole and explores both the national and international dimensions of these questions. Part I of this report provides the context for, and an overview of, the Task Force's work. It includes an analysis of why it is important to focus on domestic water and sanitation services, as well as on the broader issue of water resources management. It also includes an analysis of the Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Goals and Targets related to Water and Sanitation, as well as a brief summary of international discussions on water and sanitation, both prior to and after the Millennium Declaration; Part II analyses the key issues that relate to the specific MDG target on increasing access to water and sanitation, including current systems for monitoring and evaluation. It provides an overview of progress towards achieving the MDG Target on access to water and sanitation, including a brief review of existing information on costs; and Part III outlines the task force's analysis of the constraints to achieving the goals, and its principal propositions regarding the actions needed to move forward. It also translates these overall propositions into specific actions that need to be undertaken by key actors. The authors have sought to strike a balance between providing sufficient background information for the nonexpert while focusing principally on strategies and recommendations for the future.