Strategic thinking to achieve water MDGs

This report is the outcome of a study focusing on the water supply and sanitation costs and pricing practices that influence the attainment of Target 10 of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It explores the importance of access to safe drinking water and proper sanitation for the achievement of most other millennium developmental goals. Section 2 of the paper is a brief narrative on MDGs, with particular reference to those relating to water and those that could be related closely. Section 3 has an exploration of the cross-country patterns and analysis of the relationships between MDGs for water and sanitation with health and other MDG indicators. Section 4 is about the assessment of costs of and investments for providing water and sanitation on a sustainable basis and aspects of cost recovery. Section 5 explains the long-term target of integrating water and sanitation as part of housing development. The final and concluding section has a few recommendations.