Water is a limited natural resource and fundamental for life and health. In 2000, the World Health Organization estimate that of the world's 6 billion people, at least 1.1 billion lack access to safe drinking-water and 2.4 billion persons live without access to sanitation systems. An estimated 14 to 30 thousand people, mostly young and elderly, die everyday from avoidable water-related diseases (e.g. diarrhoeal diseases). The lives of these people who are among the poorest on our planet are often devastated by this deprivation, which impedes the enjoyment of health and other human rights.

Urban water supply services have traditionally been provided by state-owned, water utilities. In the past decades, many governments have tried to turn state-owned water utilities into effective and viable organizations with mixed success. Why have some public utilities become more efficient service providers, while others have not been able to break the vicious cycle of low performance and low cost recovery? The World Bank report 'key topics in public water utility reform' presents a framework of attributes of well functioning utilities and how they have introduced key institutional measures. It thus aims to help water and sanitation sector practitioners to choose and apply public utility reform approaches. Full paper in PDF format ( 384KB), Number of pages: 4p; Source: The World Bank

'Allocating aid through NGOs is traditionally seen as an attractive proposition for donors. This is predicated on the belief that NGOs are 'closer' to poor communities and so are able to make better use of funds. Furthermore commentators highlight that compared to official state aid the allocation of NGO funds are, in principle, less subject to political and commercial interests. However, in reality little is known about where NGO aid is spent, or how well-targeted it actually is. The authors of this paper assert that their study is the 'first comprehensive cross-country analysis of the driving forces of NGO aid'. They surveyed some 60 (of the largest) NGOs from various OECD countries and tested their research against the following hypotheses: * NGO aid is focused on the needy i.e. recipient countries with low per-capita income * NGOs are relatively strongly engaged in countries with weak institutions in order to exploit their comparative advantage of working in "difficult" environments * the preferences of donors affect the allocation of NGO aid * NGOs locate where other NGOs are active, leading to geographical clustering of NGO aid * NGOs are more strongly engaged in countries characterized by similarities with their own organization.'

'Artificial islands. Buildings that change shape. Skyscrapers that seem to literally scrape the sky. Most people have heard about the stunning projects in the Gulf born of unimaginable wealth. Where else in the world can one find fine powdered ski slopes in the desert? But while wealthy tourists enjoy the life of luxury on one side of the Middle East, one of the region's oldest states sees poverty like few can imagine.'

'This study examines the impact of small-scale old age allowance, initiated by the government of Bangladesh in 1998, on the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of elderly persons. Beneficiaries have been increased from 0.5 million in 1998 to 1.6 million in 2006, and this is a cross-sectional study conducted in 10 of the 64 districts of Bangladesh. Specifically, the aim of the study is to examine the impact of old age allowance on health-related quality of life based on specific six dimensions: physical, psychological, social, spiritual, economic, environment.'

This paper highlights why women's illiteracy needs to be addressed, and outlines documented experiences in using ICTs to address illiteracy. After reviewing some of the salient experiences of running literacy programmes for women in developing countries, the authors discuss the support needed from a broad array of sources and areas for meaningful use of ICT interventions in women's literacy. The paper then provides a brief description of the status, trends and problems relating to application of technology to adult literacy in some Third World countries, with a special focus on India. Thereafter, the paper analyses research experiences relating to the use of ICTs for women's programmes vis-à-vis women's access to ICTs, use of ICTs for poverty alleviation, and women's empowerment through ICTs, highlighting the lessons learnt.

This 2007 report 'provides a framework for policy makers to use in establishing what sectors of the economy and society are the most strategically relevant to women's development goals. It will help them make informed decisions towards a vibrant and competitive national knowledge society, taking full advantage of a country's human resources. 'In order to achieve this, data are needed: data that provide the best and most useful information on gendered opportunities and challenges, data that will allow the best decisions to be made. The report aims to provide the framework for the necessary data analysis to achieve these goals.'

'Anemia afflicts an estimated two billion people worldwide, mostly due to iron deficiency. It primarily affects women. Yet among adolescents, prevalence rates of anemia are closer for males and females in some parts of the world. The prevalence of anemia is disproportionately high in developing countries, due to poverty, inadequate diet, certain diseases, pregnancy and lactation, and poor access to health services. Young people are particularly susceptible because of their rapid growth and associated high iron requirements. Anemia is a critical health concern because it affects growth and energy levels. In pregnancy it is associated with premature births, low birth weight, and perinatal and maternal mortality. Adolescence is an opportune time for interventions to address anemia. In addition to growth needs, girls need to improve iron status before pregnancy. And both boys and girls are more accessible to information about anemia through schools, recreational activities, and via the mass media than they will be later in their lives.'

A growing movement thinks so, saying it will guarantee that the poor have water. But at a water conference in Turkey, officials voice concern about implementing such a right.

'Conflict is an unavoidable aspect of human social systems. Given the central importance of water resources to all human communities, it is natural that conflicts arise with regard to access, allocation, development and management of the resource.'

'Based on the collective inputs of UN agencies and convention Secretariats of UN-Water, this first Report offers a global overview of the state of the world's freshwater resources. It includes a large number of maps, figures, tables, and boxes illustrating the lessons learned all over the world. The report was officially released in English on World Water Day 2003, 22 March, during the 3rd World Water Forum in Japan. To know more about the report, users can access it online.'