title: Drinking water and sanitation: progress in 73 countries in relation to socioeconomic indicators.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess progress in the provision of drinking water and sanitation in relation to national socioeconomic indicators.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used household survey data for 73 countries - collected between 2000 and 2012 - to calculate linear rates of change in population access to improved drinking water (n = 67) and/or sanitation (n = 61). To enable comparison of progress between countries with different initial levels of access, the calculated rates of change were normalized to fall between -1 and 1. In regression analyses, we investigated associations between the normalized rates of change in population access and national socioeconomic indicators: gross national income per capita, government effectiveness, official development assistance, freshwater resources, education, poverty, Gini coefficient, child mortality and the human development index.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The normalized rates of change indicated that most of the investigated countries were making progress towards achieving universal access to improved drinking water and sanitation. However, only about a third showed a level of progress that was at least half the maximum achievable level. The normalized rates of change did not appear to be correlated with any of the national indicators that we investigated.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In many countries, the progress being made towards universal access to improved drinking water and sanitation is falling well short of the maximum achievable level. Progress does not appear to be correlated with a country's social and economic characteristics. The between-country variations observed in such progress may be linked to variations in government policies and in the institutional commitment and capacity needed to execute such policies effectively.
authors.affiliation: The Water Institute, Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of North Carolina, 4114 McGavran-Greenberg (Campus Box 7431), 135 Dauer Drive, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States of America .
authors.forename: Jeanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Luh
authors.affiliation: The Water Institute, Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of North Carolina, 4114 McGavran-Greenberg (Campus Box 7431), 135 Dauer Drive, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States of America .
authors.forename: Jamie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bartram
mesh_terms: D003906:Developing Countries / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D060766:Drinking Water; D014943:Global Health; D006801:Humans; D012499:Sanitation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014881:Water Supply / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014944:World Health Organization
chemical_list: D060766:Drinking Water