BW2 Holdings


Better Water for a Better World™

The World Health Organization maintains a section on their website dedicated to Water Sanitation and Health in the world.

As part of our mission, BW2's products, solutions and technologies aim to help organizations, provinces and municipalities reach these WHO water health standards. Listed below are some recent publications of WHO, pertaining to world water health.

click on image to download full report PDF (1.7 Mb)		Asia Water Watch 2015 Are countries in Asia on track to meet Target 10 of the Millennium Development Goals? The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), identified in the 2000 United Nations Millennium Declaration, reflect the commitment of the world community to work together and reduce global poverty. The MDGs’ Target 10 calls for the world to halve the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation by 2015. It presents a particularly formidable challenge for Asia and the Pacific, where one in three persons does not have access to safe, sustainable water supplies, and one in two to sanitation. This report assesses the region’s prospects of reaching Target 10. Important to the progress and prospects of the region is the rationale that this report presents: it is not investing for water’s sake, but for poverty’s sake.

click on image to download full report PDF (1.1 Mb)		Linking Poverty Reduction and Water Management The Poverty-Environment Partnership (PEP) is a network of bilateral aid agencies, multilateral development banks, UN agencies and international NGOs. It aims to address key poverty-environment issues within the framework of international efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Knowledge-sharing activities undertaken by the PEP since 2001 underpin efforts to link poverty reduction and environmental management. This paper analyses the relationship between water management and poverty reduction. All aspects of poverty are considered: this is reflected in the analysis of water’s potential contribution to all of the MDGs, not just those that refer explicitly to water. The basic contention, supported through reference to a wide range of case studies, is that water management is a good investment: not only can it contribute to poverty reduction, but it can do so in ways that are affordable and, in many cases, generate wealth. Furthermore, it has a great potential to promote the health of local communities, which in turn will contribute importantly to poverty reduction. This potential is often not understood: the political prominence of water issues is all too often not translated into investment priorities. In particular,water management actions are poorly represented in PRSPs and in other key development strategies intended to focus national efforts on poverty reduction and attaining the MDGs. The paper builds on the conceptual framework developed in earlier Poverty-Environment Partnership papers through the analysis of the contribution of different aspects of water management to four key dimensions of poverty reduction.

click on image to download full report PDF (2.9 Mb)		Making Water a Part of Economic Development The economic benefits of improved water management and services. Better access to clean water, sanitation services and water management creates tremendous opportunity for the poor and is a progressive strategy for economic growth. This report articulates the close link between water and the economy and makes the case that investing in water management and services is absolutely essential for the eradication of poverty and is a necessary condition for enabling sustained economic growth. The poor gain directly from improved access to basic water and sanitation services through improved health, averted health care costs and time saved. Good management of water resources brings more certainty and efficiency in productivity across economic sectors and contributes to the health of the ecosystem. Taken together, these interventions lead to immediate and long-term economic, social and environmental benefi ts that make a difference to lives of billions of people. This report was commissioned by the Governments of Norway and Sweden and prepared by the Stockholm International Water Institute in collaboration with the World Health Organization and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation.

click on image to download full report PDF (400 kb)		Emerging Issues in Water and Infectious Diseases Infectious, water-related diseases are a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Newly-recognized pathogens and new strains of established pathogens are being discovered that present important additional challenges to both the water and public health sectors. Between 1972 and 1999, 35 new agents of disease were discovered and many more have re-emerged. Amongst these are pathogens that may be transmitted by water. Other dimensions of "emerging issues" arise from changes in the way we manage water resources and supplies; changes in the and methods used to study the organisms and their health effects; and changes in the behaviour and susceptibility of the human population itself. Investigating important emerging issues in water and infectious disease and communicating findings are addressed by an initiative being taken by the World Health Organization (WHO), USEPA and collaborators. The initiative seeks to accelerate the identification of actual and perceived issues, to bring together information and knowledge in critical areas, and to disseminate information to policy makers and practitioners in a timely fashion.

click on image to download full report PDF (2.5 Mb)		WHO Guidelines for Drinking-Water Quality, 3rd edition The first and second editions of the Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality were used by developing and developed countries worldwide as the basis for regulation and standard setting to ensure the safety of drinking-water. They recognized the priority that should be given to ensuring microbial safety and provided guideline values for a large number of chemical hazards. The third edition of the Guidelines has been comprehensively updated to take account of developments in risk assessment and risk management since the second edition. It describes a “Framework for Drinking-water Safety” and discusses the roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders, including the complementary roles of national regulators, suppliers, communities and independent “surveillance” agencies. Developments in the third edition of the Guidelines include significantly expanded guidance on ensuring the microbial safety of drinking-water – in particular through comprehensive system-specific “water safety plans”. Information on many chemicals has been revised to account for new scientific information and information on chemicals not previously considered has been included. For the first time, reviews of many waterborne pathogens are provided. Recognizing the need for different tools and approaches in supporting large and community supplies, in the third edition continues to describe the principal characteristics of the approaches to each. New sections deal with the application of the Guidelines to specific circumstances, such as emergencies and disasters, large buildings, packaged/bottled water, travellers, desalination systems, food production and processing and water safety on ships and in aviation. The first addendum, which updates the third edition, has been incorporated inthis volume. It includes more guidance on management of emergencies and unforeseen events, additions concerning chlorination by-products and developing standards for volatile substances, and several new fact sheets for chemical substances.

click on image to download full report PDF (1.3 Mb)		WHO Guidelines for Safe Recreational Waters Volume 1 - Coastal and Fresh Waters The World Health Organization’s (WHO) new Guidelines for Safe recreational Water Environments describes the present state of knowledge regarding the impact of recreational use of coastal and freshwater environments upon the health of users – specifically drowning and injury, exposure to cold, heat and sunlight, water quality (especially exposure to water contaminated by sewage, but also exposure to freeliving pathogenic microorganisms in recreational water), contamination of beach sand, exposure to algae and their products, exposure to chemical and physical agents, and dangerous aquatic organisms. As well, control and monitoring of the hazards associated with these environments are discussed. The primary aim of the Guidelines is the protection of public health. The Guidelines are intended to be used as the basis for the development of international and national approaches (including standards and regulations) to controlling the health risks from hazards that may be encountered in recreational water environments, as well as providing a framework for local decision-making. The Guidelines may also be used as reference material for industries and operators preparing development projects in recreational water areas, as a checklist for understanding and assessing potential health impacts of recreational projects, and in the conduct of environmental impact and environmental health impact assessments in particular.

click on image to download full report PDF (1.2 Mb)		Guidelines for Safe Recreational Waters Volume 2 - Swimming Pools and Similar Recreational-water Environments This book provides an authoritative referenced review and assessment of the health hazards associated with recreational waters of this type; their monitoring and assessment; and activities available for their control through education of users, good design and construction, and good operation and management. The Guidelines include both specific guideline values and good practices. It addresses a wide range of types of hazard, including hazards leading to drowning and injury, water quality, contamination of associated facilities and air quality. This document is the first to provide comprehensive guidance for managing swimming pools and similar facilities so that recreational benefits are maximized while negative public health impacts are minimized. This volume will be useful to a variety of different stakeholders with interests in ensuring the safety of pools and similar recreational water environments including National and local authorities; facility owners, operators and designers (public, semi-public and domestic facilities); special interest groups; public health professionals; scientists and researchers; and facility users.

For more information on the World Health Organization and their Water Sanitation and Health website, please click on this link.

© World Health Organization 2006. All PDFs, documents, reports and descriptions presented on this page are the properties of the World Health Organization.