Health and Economy |
Unicef Real Lives: Guinea worm causes physical pain for people, economic pain for countries Link>> UN-Habitat reports on the economic impact of cholera outbreaks resulting from poor sanitation. Link>> |
Beaches and Tourism |
UN-Habitat reports on the economic impact of the wastewater pollution crisis in the Americas Link>> WHO Guide: Monitoring Bathing Waters (with Chapter on Aesthetic Aspects and Tourism) Link>>
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Fisheries |
| Marine pollution threatens coral recovery, fish stocks, oysters, UN reports warn. UN News 2006 Link>> |
UNICEF factsheets |
| Factsheet English>> French>> Spanish>> |
© UNICEF/HQ94-1315/PirozziA garbage-strewn beach in Cameroon
Sanitation generates economic benefits
Factsheet Sanitation is an investment with high economic returns >>
Improved sanitation has positive impacts on economic growth and poverty reduction. According to a recent WHO study, every dollar spent on improving sanitation generates an average economic benefit of $7. The economic cost of inaction is astronomical. Without improving sanitation, none of the other Millennium Development Goals, to which the world has committed itself, will be achieved.
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Costs and benefits of water and sanitation improvements at the global level The aim of this study was to estimate the economic costs and benefits of a range of selected interventions to improve water and sanitation services, with results presented for 17 WHO sub-regions and at the global level. WHO 2004 [pdf-733 Kb] [executive summary] [résumé en français] [sinopsis en español]
Meeting Development Goals in Small Urban Centres - Water and Sanitation in the World's Cities 2006 Attaining the MDGs overall will depend to a large extent on how we can strengthen the prospects of local economic development and improve the living and working conditions of small towns and cities which, in turn, depend on access to clean water and improved sanitation.
UN-Habitat 2006. in hardcopy only Link>>
Urban Sanitation: Portraits, Expectations and Opportunities - It's Not a Private Matter Anymore! Provides images, graphics, statistic and examples from Indonesia to show the impact of poor sanitation on the public, in terms of health, environment, and economy. WSP 2007. [pdf-5MB]
Linking Poverty Reduction and Water Management The basic contention advanced, and supported through reference
to a wide range of case studies, is that waterwater management is a good investment: not only can it
contribute to poverty reduction, but it can do so in ways that are affordable and, in many cases, generate
wealth. Poverty-Environment Partnership 2005.
[pdf-1.4MB]