International definitions of access to drinking water and sanitation

MDG Target 7c calls on countries to "Halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking-water and basic sanitation." The official MDG indicators used tomeasure and report on progress towards this target are the following:

-The proportion of population using an improved drinking-water source, urban and rural

-The proportion of population using an improved sanitation facility, urban and rural.

An improved drinking-water source is defined as one that, by nature of its construction or through active intervention, is protected from outside contamination, in particular from contamination with fecal matter. To allow for international comparability of estimates, JMP uses the following classification to differentiate between "improved" and "unimproved" drinking-water sources.

Improved drinking water / Unimproved drinking water
Use of
  • Piped water into dwelling, plot or yard
  • Piped water into neighbor’s plot
  • Public tap/standpipe
  • Tubewell/borehole
  • Protected dug well
  • Protected spring
  • Rainwater
/ Use of
  • Unprotected dug well
  • Unprotected spring
  • Small cart with tank/drum
  • Tanker truck
  • Surface water (river, dam, lake, pond, stream, channel, irrigation channel)
  • Bottled water[1]

An improved sanitation facility is defined as one that hygienically separates human excreta from human contact. To allow for international comparability of estimates, JMP uses the following classification to differentiate between "improved" and "unimproved" types of sanitation facilities.

Improved sanitation / Unimproved sanitation
Use of
  • Flush or pour-flush to:
  • piped sewer system
  • septic tank
  • pit latrine
  • Ventilated improved pit latrine (VIP)
  • Pit latrine with slab
  • Composting toilet
/
  • Use of
  • Flush or pour-flush to elsewhere[2]
  • Pit latrine without slab or open pit
  • Bucket
  • Hanging toilet or hanging latrine
  • Public or shared sanitation facilities
  • No facilities or bush or field (open defecation)

National definitions and indicators of access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation

(please indicate what constitutes access to drinking water and sanitation according to your country and use a separate sheet if needed)

Access to drinking water / Access to sanitation
General description: / General description:

Calculation of coverage estimates for MDG monitoring by the WHO/UNICEF JMP

1990, 1995, 2000 and 2006 coverage estimates are based on nationally representativesurvey and census data. These data are plotted on a time series and coverage estimates for these four years are derived from a linear regression line through the data points. The coverage estimates are derived from the linear regression line as shown below:

Explanation of most common discrepancies between national and international coverage estimates

1)Use of different definitions of access including poorly defined access categories

2)Use of latest survey or census findings only vs. use of an estimates derived from a linear regression of all available data

3)Use of different population estimates, including a different distribution of urban and rural populations

4)Use of “old” estimates which do not reflect all, or the latest findings of new sample surveys or a new census

5)Use of “reported” line ministry data vs. use of independently verifiable data from sample surveys or censuses

Adjustments made by JMP to census and sample survey findings to ensure comparability among survey data over time

Censuses and sample surveys often do not provide a sufficient level of disaggregation by type of drinking water source or sanitation facility used. Sometimes a facility type is not well defined and interpretation of whether or not such facility is improved is difficult. Based on other surveys on file the JMP estimates what proportion of such poorly defined categories should be considered improved. For Bangladesh this has been done in the following instance(s):

Survey / Facility type / Action taken
All surveys except for WHS2003 / TraditionalPitLatrine or Pit / The ratio of improved pit latrines to all pit latrines from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2006 has been used to estimate the proportion of improved traditional (pit) latrines
All Surveys / Shallow wells / A nationwide arsenic testing programme supported by the Government of Bangladesh and UNICEF which found in 2006 that 20% of the shallow (dug) wells in Bangladesh were contaminated with Arsenic above the national norm. Subsequently the JMP has subtracted 20 percent of those relying on shallow wells from the coverage estimates of each of the surveys on file. Bangladesh is to only country for which the JMP has made an adjustment of the drinking water coverage estimates based on an actual water quality parameter

Other household surveys and census data on file but not fully taken into account for MDG monitoring

Survey/Census / Reason for exclusion for MDG monitoring / Water / Sanitation
Maternal Health Services and Maternal Mortality Survey 2001 / No information on water / 

Other nationally representative household surveys and census data not listed above

Please listnationally representative surveys or censuses that contain information about drinking water and sanitation coverage which are not listed on any of the previous pages

Other survey or census data not yet included for MDG monitoring by the WHO/UNICEF JMP / Year

National drinking water and sanitation coverage estimates and targets

(Please provide your national coverage data – when available)

Drinking water coverage / Sanitation coverage / Data source
Year / Urban / Rural / Total / Urban / Rural / Total
1990 / % / % / % / % / % / %
1995 / % / % / % / % / % / %
2000 / % / % / % / % / % / %
2006 / % / % / % / % / % / %
…… / % / % / % / % / % / %
…… / % / % / % / % / % / %
MDG target (2015) / - / - / % / - / - / %
National target Year: / - / - / % / - / - / %

Remarks

Data sheet of sanitation anddrinking water coverage inBangladesh UNSD and ESCAP MDGmeeting, Bangkok, 14-16 January 2009

[1]Bottled water is considered to be improved only when the household uses water from another improved source for cooking and personal hygiene; where this information is not available, bottled water is classified on a case-by- case basis.

[2] Excreta are flushed to the street, yard or plot, open sewer, a ditch, a drainage way or other location.