University Library
  • Login
A gateway to Melbourne's research publications
Minerva Access is the University's Institutional Repository. It aims to collect, preserve, and showcase the intellectual output of staff and students of the University of Melbourne for a global audience.
View Item 
  • Minerva Access
  • Medicine, Dentistry & Health Sciences
  • Melbourne School of Population and Global Health
  • Melbourne School of Population and Global Health - Research Publications
  • View Item
  • Minerva Access
  • Medicine, Dentistry & Health Sciences
  • Melbourne School of Population and Global Health
  • Melbourne School of Population and Global Health - Research Publications
  • View Item
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Mapping geographical inequalities in access to drinking water and sanitation facilities in low-income and middle-income countries, 2000-17

    Thumbnail
    Download
    Published version (7.182Mb)

    Citations
    Scopus
    Altmetric
    2
    Author
    Deshpande, A; Miller-Petrie, MK; Lindstedt, PA; Baumann, MM; Johnson, KB; Blacker, BF; Abbastabar, H; Abd-Allah, F; Abdelalim, A; Abdollahpour, I; ...
    Date
    2020-09-01
    Source Title
    The Lancet Global Health
    Publisher
    ELSEVIER SCI LTD
    University of Melbourne Author/s
    Thirunavukkarasu, Sathish
    Affiliation
    Melbourne School of Population and Global Health
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Document Type
    Journal Article
    Citations
    Deshpande, A., Miller-Petrie, M. K., Lindstedt, P. A., Baumann, M. M., Johnson, K. B., Blacker, B. F., Abbastabar, H., Abd-Allah, F., Abdelalim, A., Abdollahpour, I., Abegaz, K. H., Abejie, A. N., Abreu, L. G., Abrigo, M. R. M., Abualhasan, A., Accrombessi, M. M. K., Adamu, A. A., Adebayo, O. M., Adedeji, I. A. ,... Reiner, R. C. (2020). Mapping geographical inequalities in access to drinking water and sanitation facilities in low-income and middle-income countries, 2000-17. LANCET GLOBAL HEALTH, 8 (9), pp.E1162-E1185. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30278-3.
    Access Status
    Open Access
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/11343/252538
    DOI
    10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30278-3
    Abstract
    BACKGROUND: Universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities is an essential human right, recognised in the Sustainable Development Goals as crucial for preventing disease and improving human wellbeing. Comprehensive, high-resolution estimates are important to inform progress towards achieving this goal. We aimed to produce high-resolution geospatial estimates of access to drinking water and sanitation facilities. METHODS: We used a Bayesian geostatistical model and data from 600 sources across more than 88 low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) to estimate access to drinking water and sanitation facilities on continuous continent-wide surfaces from 2000 to 2017, and aggregated results to policy-relevant administrative units. We estimated mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive subcategories of facilities for drinking water (piped water on or off premises, other improved facilities, unimproved, and surface water) and sanitation facilities (septic or sewer sanitation, other improved, unimproved, and open defecation) with use of ordinal regression. We also estimated the number of diarrhoeal deaths in children younger than 5 years attributed to unsafe facilities and estimated deaths that were averted by increased access to safe facilities in 2017, and analysed geographical inequality in access within LMICs. FINDINGS: Across LMICs, access to both piped water and improved water overall increased between 2000 and 2017, with progress varying spatially. For piped water, the safest water facility type, access increased from 40·0% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 39·4-40·7) to 50·3% (50·0-50·5), but was lowest in sub-Saharan Africa, where access to piped water was mostly concentrated in urban centres. Access to both sewer or septic sanitation and improved sanitation overall also increased across all LMICs during the study period. For sewer or septic sanitation, access was 46·3% (95% UI 46·1-46·5) in 2017, compared with 28·7% (28·5-29·0) in 2000. Although some units improved access to the safest drinking water or sanitation facilities since 2000, a large absolute number of people continued to not have access in several units with high access to such facilities (>80%) in 2017. More than 253 000 people did not have access to sewer or septic sanitation facilities in the city of Harare, Zimbabwe, despite 88·6% (95% UI 87·2-89·7) access overall. Many units were able to transition from the least safe facilities in 2000 to safe facilities by 2017; for units in which populations primarily practised open defecation in 2000, 686 (95% UI 664-711) of the 1830 (1797-1863) units transitioned to the use of improved sanitation. Geographical disparities in access to improved water across units decreased in 76·1% (95% UI 71·6-80·7) of countries from 2000 to 2017, and in 53·9% (50·6-59·6) of countries for access to improved sanitation, but remained evident subnationally in most countries in 2017. INTERPRETATION: Our estimates, combined with geospatial trends in diarrhoeal burden, identify where efforts to increase access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities are most needed. By highlighting areas with successful approaches or in need of targeted interventions, our estimates can enable precision public health to effectively progress towards universal access to safe water and sanitation. FUNDING: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

    Export Reference in RIS Format     

    Endnote

    • Click on "Export Reference in RIS Format" and choose "open with... Endnote".

    Refworks

    • Click on "Export Reference in RIS Format". Login to Refworks, go to References => Import References


    Collections
    • Minerva Elements Records [53102]
    • Melbourne School of Population and Global Health - Research Publications [5352]
    Minerva AccessDepositing Your Work (for University of Melbourne Staff and Students)NewsFAQs

    BrowseCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects
    My AccountLoginRegister
    StatisticsMost Popular ItemsStatistics by CountryMost Popular Authors