Year of publication: 2007

Hutton, G.; Haller, L. and Bartram, J. (2007). Economic and health effects of increasing coverage of low cost household drinking-water supply and sanitation interventions to countries off-track to meet MDG target 10. Geneva, Switzerland, World Health Organization (Public health and the environment). – xiii, 53 p. : 16 fig., 26 tab. – Report no. WHO/SDE/WSH/07/05

This study models the economic and health impacts of low cost water supply and sanitation improvements in countries where the predicted coverage in 2015 falls short of the water supply and sanitation Millennium Development Goals (MDG) targets. Results are presented for 6 non-OECD developing world regions, based on the UNDP classification. Costs of selected low-cost interventions include the full investment and operation and maintenance costs. The benefits of the interventions include time savings associated with better access to water and sanitation, gain in productive time due to less time spent ill, economic gains associated with saved lives, and health sector and patient costs saved due to less health seeking. An important caveat of a global study such as the one presented here is the uncertainty in the results. While cost-benefit analysis can be carried out to identify all the beneficiaries and the (potential) financers, the analysis does not provide direct answers to the question of who is able to pay. A wide variety of financing mechanisms to encourage the necessary improvements is imperative.

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