UN chief: Lack of political will biggest culprit in failure to achieve basic sanitation goal

Leaders who adopted the Millennium Development Goals in 2000 envisioned halving the proportion of people living without access to basic sanitation by the year 2015 -- but we are nowhere near on pace to achieve that Goal. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s said this in his message on World Water Day, to be observed on 22 March. Experts predict that, by 2015, 2.1 billion people will still lack basic sanitation. At the present rate, sub-Saharan Africa will not reach the target until 2076. While there have been advances, progress is hampered by population growth, widespread poverty, insufficient investments to address the problem and the biggest culprit: a lack of political will.

Source: UN Department of Public Information, News and Media Division, 5 Mar 2008