Water and sanitation services to the urban poor

Africa has the lowest water supply and sanitation coverage of any region in the world. More than 1 in 3 Africans have no access to improved water supply or to sanitation facilities. Coverage levels in 2000 for both water supply (62%) and sanitation (60%) are about the same. The sad reality is that the total number of people without these services is increasing; unless we act now, the absolute number will double by 2020 from 200 million to 400 million1. The majority of these people will be those living in informal or peri-urban areas and rural communities.