A SNAPSHOT 2012 UPDATE

WATER SUPPLY

IN EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC

Overview
The East Asia and Pacific Region has made good progress in drinking water supply over the last 20 years:
The proportion of people using improved water supplies increased by 21 per cent between 1990 and 2010, a greater rate than in most other regions More than half of the population of the Regional and World Water Coverage Trends region now have access to piped water on the premises Surface water 2 3 6 7 East Asia and the Pacific has already met Unimproved 8 8 the MDG water target 18 24 677 million more people use improved Other drinking water than 20 years ago, the 32 improved 35 majority of them in China 31 The majority of people in the region use appropriate household water treatment 39 to improve their drinking water quality
Coverage (%)

However, challenges remain:

58

Piped on Premises

Almost 200 million people still do not 45 have access to improved water supply in 30 the region Coverage disparities are pronounced in 2010 1990 2010 1990 the region: national coverage levels East Asia World Total range from as low as 40 per cent (in and the water Surface water Surface water Surface Pacific Papua New Guinea) to over 95 per cent Unimproved Unimproved Unimproved (in Thailand, Malaysia and other Other improved Other improved Other improved countries) Piped on premises Piped on premises Piped on premises Access to water is inequitable within countries: urban dwellers are more likely to have access to improved water supplies than rural households Poverty levels are also an important factor influencing the use of improved drinking water: poorer households are much less likely to have access than richer households The Pacific sub-region is lagging behind: coverage levels for improved drinking water has actually decreased from 51 per cent in 1990 to 50 per cent in 2010

54

Information about this Snapshot This snapshot is produced by the UNICEF Regional Office for East Asia and the Pacific The UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Region encompasses 27 countries; 12 in East Asia and 15 in the Pacific (see last page for listing) Unless otherwise indicated, data in this snapshot is from the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation 2010 dataset, the latest available See page 6 for full citations and credits

A Snapshot of Water Supply in East Asia and the Pacific 2012 Update

Drinking Water Inequities

Urban-rural coverage disparity still exists, but the gap is narrowing
The East Asia and Pacific Region urban-rural drinking water gap has shrunk from 37 percentage points in 1990 to 13 points in 2010 However, there are still significant urban-rural gaps in some countries, notably in Papua New Guinea (54 percentage points between urban and rural), Mongolia (47 points), Timor-Leste (31 points) and Cambodia (29 points) Piped water on the premises is much more common for urban households than for rural households
1 4 18 3 13

10

3 13

Surface water Unimproved

32
Other improved

49
Coverage (%)

77

84

48
Piped on Premises

35 10
1990 2010 1990

2010

Urban
Surface water

Rural
Surface water Unimproved Other improved

Surface water Unimproved Other improved

Few people have access to piped water in rural Other improved areas
100

Unimproved

Piped on premises Piped on premisesPiped on premises

Rural Water Coverage

92 85
67

93
85

95
64

97
17

95 87
70 29

96
56

96

97
97

99
99

84
80 49

Rural Drinking Water Coverage (%)

80 62
59

74
66

78
75

81
52

40 80

60

58 53
51

60
48

66

53

40

45 31

33
30

40 35 29 17

20
12

25

8
0

Piped

Other Improved

Use of improved drinking water in rural areas in 18 East Asia and Pacific countries, compared to regional and world totals, 2010, per cent. Full data not available for countries not appearing in this graph (see last page for all data).

A Snapshot of Water Supply in East Asia and the Pacific 2012 Update

Poor households have lower water coverage levels in East Asia and the Pacific
Coverage (%)

100 80 60 7 86

The poorest households have lower access to improved drinking water than richer households in many countries (notably in Lao PDR and Indonesia) Disparities are most pronounced for access to piped water supply on the premises (such as in the Philippines where only 8% of poorest quintile households have piped water compared to 93% of the richest households)

29 41 43

40
20 0

39
33

10 3rd 4th Richest

Poorest 2nd

Lao PDR MICS 2006

100 80
Coverage (%)
100 100 36 62 60 58 48 56 57 80 65 65 47 22 76

81 72

82

73

37
80

6 93

Coverage (%)

Coverage (%)

60

63

60 40 20 0

40
20 0 25

40
20 0

49

28 3 9

27
8 Poorest 2nd 3rd 4th Richest

10

13
3rd 4th Richest

15
3rd 4th Richest

Poorest 2nd

Poorest 2nd

Viet Nam MICS 2011

Indonesia DHS 2007

Philippines DHS 2008

Use of piped water on premises and other improved drinking water facilities by wealth quintiles (%).

Regional and country averages mask large disparities within countries

This equity tree example from Timor-Leste shows that the poorest households in rural areas have much lower coverage levels even than in sub-Saharan Africa
98 Fiji 96 Thailand 94 Americas & Caribbean 90 East Asia & the Pacific 91 China 91 Urban 99 Richest 20% Urban

89 World

83 Myanmar 82 Indonesia 77 Richest 20% Rural 69 Timor-Leste 64 Cambodia 61 Sub S Africa 60 Rural 69 Poorest 20% Urban

43 Poorest 20% Rural 40 Papua New Guinea

Improved water coverage in Timor-Leste, per cent. Sources: JMP 2012 and Timor-Leste DHS, 2009

A Snapshot of Water Supply in East Asia and the Pacific 2012 Update

Water Quality and Household Water Treatment

Water Quality
Comprehensive data on drinking water quality is not available, however individual studies suggest that both bacteriological and chemical contamination of drinking water supplies is a serious problem in the region Substantial levels of arsenic contamination of water supplies has been found in Cambodia, China, Myanmar and Viet Nam, while in other countries less widespread occurrences have been documented or are probable (see Statistical modeling of global geogenic arsenic contamination
in groundwater. Amini et al. 2008. Environmental Science and Technology 42(10), 3669-3675)

Household water treatment is widespread in the region

In the seven countries where data is available, the majority of households use appropriate household water treatment methods to improve their drinking water; treatment levels are relatively constant across wealth quintiles, and among rural and urban households
100
100

Household Water Treatment in East Asia

Population in households reporting the use of appropriate* water treatment methods, per cent (nonweighted average from 7 countries).
* Appropriate treatment methods include boiling, bleaching/chlorinating, filtering, and solar disinfecting Sources: MICS and DHS from Indonesia 2007, Thailand 2005-2006, Cambodia 2005, Mongolia 2005, Philippines 2003, Viet Nam 2006, Lao PDR 2006. No data available from Pacific countries.

80

80

Adequate HWT (%)

69 60 62 65

70

69
60 63 65 62

40

40

20

20

0 Poorest 2nd 3rd 4th Richest

Total

Urban

Rural

Houesholds practicing treatment method (%)

Filter Use Trends Example

Boiling is still the most common method for treating water in the region, but an increasing number of households are opting for ceramic, sand or other appropriate filters The number of households using non-appropriate methods (such as just allowing water to settle) or not using any treatment method at all is falling in some countries The example from Cambodia illustrates this trend, which is due in part to national filter use promotional programmes

40

34
30

Treatment Method Trends in Cambodia

25

20

12
10

11

2
0

2005
Ceramic, sand or other filter Stand & settle

2010
No treatment

Trends in selected household water treatment methods in Cambodia (boilingnot shownremains the most common method). Sources: DHS 2005 and 2010.

A Snapshot of Water Supply in East Asia and the Pacific 2012 Update

Focus on the Pacific Sub-Region

The East Asia sub-region has progressed much more than the Pacific sub-region
Urban Improved Rural Improved National Improved

East Asia
1990 2000 2010
95 96 97 58 71 84 68 80 90

Pacific
1990 2000 2010
91 92 92 41 42 41 51 52 50

Use of improved water facilities, Pacific sub-region compared to East Asia sub-region, per cent

Gains have been made in all UNICEF regions, but not in the Pacific sub-region
East Asia sub-region South Asia Sub-Saharan Africa Americas and Caribbean CEE/CIS Middle East & North Africa Pacific sub-region
-5 -1 0 5 10 15 20 % point change 1990-2010 25 1 5 9 19 22

12

Percentage point gain in national improved water source use, 1990 to 2010. Pacific and East Asia sub-regions compared to other regions; CEE/CIS is Central, Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States

* In this snapshot, Papua New Guinea is in the Pacific sub-region in conformance with MDG classification practices (the MDG Oceania region). This means that coverage levels and progress rates in that country heavily influence sub-regional averages due to its large population relative to Pacific Island Nations.

A Snapshot of Water Supply in East Asia and the Pacific 2012 Update

Drinking Water Coverage in East Asia and the Pacific

Mongolia

DPR Korea

China

Micronesia Myanmar Lao PDR Viet Nam Thailand Cambodia Malaysia Philippines Nauru

Marshall Islands

Kiribati

Palau
Tuvalu Tokelau Solomon Islands TimorLeste Papua New Guinea Vanuatu

Indonesia Less than 50% 50% to 75% 76% to 90% 91% to 100% Insufficient data

Samoa
Cook Islands Fiji Tonga Niue

Improved water supply coverage in East Asia and Pacific countries, 2010, national. Only countries in the UNICEF East Asia and Pacific region are shown. This map does not reflect a position by UNICEF on the legal status of any country or territory or the delimitation of any frontiers.

Data Sources and Notes

Main water supply dataset: from Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation: 2012 Update (with supplemental data from wssinfo.org), from WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation Country-specific DHS data: from published Demographic and Household Surveys available at measuredhs.com, from USAID and national statistics bureaus Country-specific MICS data: from published Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys available at childinfo.org, from UNICEF, other UN agencies and national statistics bureaus Cover photo credits, clockwise from top right: UNICEF/NYHQ2004-1370/Noorani, UNICEF/LAOA20085596/Holmes, UNICEF/NYHQ2006-1850/Estey, UNICEF/MGLA2007-00433/Holmes UNICEF does not warrant that the information contained in this publication is complete and correct and shall not be liable for any damages incurred as a result of its use.

Acknowledgements
UNICEF thanks Greg Keast, who developed and produced this snapshot under the guidance of Chander Badloe, UNICEF East Asia and the Pacific Regional Office. Special appreciation also to the following reviewers for their valuable inputs: Almud Weitz from the Water and Sanitation Program; James Wicken from WaterAid; Hilda Winartasaputra from Plan International; and Ramesh Bhusal, Therese Dooley, Nguyen Thanh Hien, Libbet HornPhathanothai, Dara Johnston, Janine Kandel, Rolf Luyendijk, Nadarajah Moorthy, Henk van Norden, Marjolein Oijevaar, Michael Emerson P. Gnilo and David Parker from UNICEF..

A Snapshot of Water Supply in East Asia and the Pacific 2012 Update

Drinking Water Coverage by Country

Country estimates by type of drinking water source 1990, 2010
Urban
Surface Water Other Unimproved

Rural
Unimproved (%) Improved (%) Unimproved (%)

National
Improved (%) Unimproved (%)

Surface Water

Surface Water

Other Unimproved

Total Improved

Other Improved

Total Improved

Other Improved

Total Improved

Cambodia China Cook Islands DPR Korea Fiji Indonesia Kiribati Lao PDR Malaysia Marshall Islands Micronesia (Fed. States of) Mongolia Myanmar Nauru Niue Palau Papua New Guinea Philippines Samoa Solomon Islands Thailand Timor-Leste Tokelau Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu Viet Nam Total

1990 2010 1990 2010 1990 2010 1990 2010 1990 2010 1990 2010 1990 2010 1990 2010 1990 2010 1990 2010 1990 2010 1990 2010 1990 2010 1990 2010 1990 2010 1990 2010 1990 2010 1990 2010 1990 2010 1990 2010 1990 2010 1990 2010 1990 2010 1990 2010 1990 2010 1990 2010 1990 2010 1990 2010

9,532 14,138 1,145,195 1,341,335 18 20 20,143 24,346 728 861 184,346 239,871 72 100 4,192 6,201 18,209 28,401 47 54 96 111 2,193 2,756 39,268 47,963 9 10 2 1 15 20 4,158 6,858 61,629 93,261 161 183 310 538 57,072 69,122 743 1,124 2 1 95 104 9 10 147 240 67,102 87,848 1,615,493 1,965,479

48 87 97 98 99 98 100 99 94 100 91 92 76 77 94 100 94 92 93 74 100 80 93 98 88 100 100 73 83 89 87 93 93 97 96 96 97 91 100 100 92 98 94 98 88 99 95 97

15 63 92 95 93 92 97 25 36 46 55 86 99 1 1 53 26 17 19 38 43 61 57 40 61 85 84 76 74 80 45 92 97 79 52 44 59 77 84

33 24 5 3 6 2 3 66 56 30 22 8 1 93 91 21 74 63 74 35 40 28 30 53 32 12 12 22 17 46 0 1 15 46 44 40 18 13

22 4 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 3 0 6 0 2 0 0 7 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0 1 0

30 9 2 2 1 2 0 0 6 0 8 8 24 20 6 0 6 8 7 20 0 20 5 2 12 0 0 27 17 4 11 6 7 3 3 4 3 9 0 0 8 2 6 2 5 1 4 3

29 58 56 85 87 100 97 77 95 61 74 33 62 82 99 97 99 87 27 53 48 78 100 100 96 96 32 33 77 92 87 96 82 95 60 90 97 100 100 89 97 55 87 49 93 58 84

0 5 12 45 80 38 66 2 8 13 3 59 0 0 0 2 1 3 40 40 4 3 9 25 72 80 1 1 10 31 12 89 97 27 17 0 8 10 35

29 53 44 40 17 39 29 59 66 20 59 23 97 99 27 51 47 75 56 56 28 30 68 67 15 16 72 64 48 0 0 28 70 49 85 48 49

35 20 10 2 0 3 5 3 7 4 17 55 24 8 0 0 51 45 2 1 1 2 0 2 0 0 8 19 5 10 3

36 22 34 13 13 0 0 18 2 32 22 67 21 18 1 3 1 13 18 23 52 14 0 0 4 4 17 22 21 7 13 3 16 5 38 10 3 0 0 11 3 45 5 32 2 32 13

31 64 67 91 94 100 98 84 98 70 82 48 67 88 100 95 94 89 54 82 56 83 98 88 100 100 80 85 41 40 85 92 89 96 86 96 69 90 97 100 100 90 98 62 90 57 95 69 90

2 17 33 68 88 60 82 9 20 25 20 72 1 1 30 17 5 8 39 43 13 10 24 43 75 81 11 29 48 21 90 97 37 26 9 23 30 58

Other Improved

Country

Year

30 47 34 23 10 24 16 61 62 23 47 16 94 93 24 65 51 75 41 43 28 30 61 50 14 15 57 48 47 0 1 26 64 48 71 39 32

33 17 8 1 0 2 3 1 5 2 12 27 9 6 0 0 44 40 2 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 6 17 3 7 2

August 2012
UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office (EAPRO) 19 Phra Atit Road, Bangkok, 10200 Thailand Website: http://www.unicef.org/eapro/ Email: asiapacificinfo@unicef.org Twitter: twitter.com/unicefasiapac

A Snapshot of Water Supply in East Asia and the Pacific 2012 Update

Other Unimproved

Piped on Premises

Piped on Premises

Piped on Premises

Total Population (x 1000)

Improved (%)

35 19 25 8 6 0 0 13 1 25 16 52 21 12 0 5 6 11 19 9 44 11 2 12 0 0 20 15 15 20 13 6 11 3 13 4 31 10 3 0 0 10 2 38 4 26 3 24 8