title: Economic aspects of sanitation in developing countries.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Improved sanitation has been shown to have great impacts on people's health and economy. However, the progress of achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on halving the proportion of people without access to clean water and basic sanitation by 2015 has thus far been delayed. One of the reasons for the slow progress is that policy makers, as well as the general public, have not fully understood the importance of the improved sanitation solutions. This paper, by gathering relevant research findings, aims to report and discuss currently available evidence on the economic aspects of sanitation, including the economic impacts of unimproved sanitation and the costs and economic benefits of some common improved sanitation options in developing countries.
  
  
  METHODS
  DATA USED IN THIS PAPER WERE OBTAINED FROM DIFFERENT INFORMATION SOURCES: international and national journal articles and reports, web-based statistics, and fact sheets. We used both online search and hand search methods to gather the information.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Scientific evidence has demonstrated that the economic cost associated with poor sanitation is substantial. At the global level, failure to meet the MDG water and sanitation target would have ramifications in the area of US$38 billion, and sanitation accounts for 92% of this amount. In developing countries, the spending required to provide new coverage to meet the MDG sanitation target (not including program costs) is US$142 billion (US$ year 2005). This translates to a per capita spending of US$28 for sanitation. Annually, this translates to roughly US$14 million. The evidence complied in this paper demonstrates that investing in sanitation is socially and economically worthwhile. For every US$1 invested, achieving the sanitation MDG target and universal sanitation access in the non-OECD countries would result in a global return of US$9.1 and US$11.2, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Given the current state of knowledge, sanitation is undeniably a profitable investment. It is clear that achieving the MDG sanitation target not only saves lives but also provides a foundation for economic growth.
authors.affiliation: Health Economics Department, Institute for Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Hoang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Van Minh
authors.forename: Hung
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nguyen-Viet
references.citation: PLoS Med. 2010 Nov 16;7(11):e1000363
references.pmid: 21125018
references.citation: Wis Med J. 1953 Jul;52(7):419
references.pmid: 13078633
references.citation: J Water Health. 2007 Dec;5(4):481-502
references.pmid: 17878562
references.citation: Public Health. 2011 Jun;125(6):368-76
references.pmid: 21616514
references.citation: Lancet Infect Dis. 2005 Jan;5(1):42-52
references.pmid: 15620560
references.citation: Bull World Health Organ. 2008 Jan;86(1):13-9
references.pmid: 18235885
references.citation: J Water Health. 2007 Dec;5(4):467-80
references.pmid: 17878561