Water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) are key determinants of health, particularly for young children. Observation and experience tell us that health and early childhood development are severely compromised due to low levels of WaSH in our study site. Yet, in 2011, UN policymakers eager to fulfil MDG goals declared a victory in the area of drinking water, claiming that the MDG safe drinking water goal had been achieved in India and worldwide.
We conducted a head-to-head comparison of the UN MDG Target 7c indicator for safe drinking water with a measure of microbial water quality (reference standard). Our study revealed gross discrepancies between the UN MDG indicator and microbiological water quality. It documented a very high burden of infectious disease suggestive of WaSH failures in areas that had achieved MDG water targets.
Flawed data undermine effective research and appropriate action – such data contribute to ongoing failures to meet the needs of communities. We therefore called for an urgent reconsideration of the UN’s MDG target 7c indicator for safe drinking water. This work was featured in the Lancet in an editorial and sent as part of the media package to the high-level UN Sanitation and Water for All meeting in April 2014. Top Indian newspapers (including the national editions of the Times of India and the Hindu) also carried the story.