eprintid: 13497 rev_number: 18 userid: 1114 dir: disk0/00/01/34/97 datestamp: 2012-09-24 18:43:28 lastmod: 2016-11-15 14:01:50 status_changed: 2012-09-24 18:43:28 type: thesis_degree succeeds: 13108 metadata_visibility: show contact_email: cmgerstel@yahoo.com item_issues_id: duplicate_title_13061 item_issues_id: duplicate_title_13108 item_issues_id: thesis_degree_versioning item_issues_type: duplicate_title item_issues_type: duplicate_title item_issues_type: thesis_degree_versioning item_issues_description: Duplicate title to Gerstel, Christina MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOAL 7.C – ACCESS TO WATER: AN EXPLORATORY LOOK AT SIX COUNTRIES. Master's Thesis, University of Pittsburgh. item_issues_description: Duplicate title to Gerstel, Christina MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOAL 7.C – ACCESS TO WATER: AN EXPLORATORY LOOK AT SIX COUNTRIES. Master's Thesis, University of Pittsburgh. item_issues_description: ETD 13497 is using versioning. item_issues_timestamp: 2012-07-25 06:11:58 item_issues_timestamp: 2012-08-10 06:12:24 item_issues_timestamp: 2013-09-11 17:49:42 item_issues_status: autoresolved item_issues_status: autoresolved item_issues_status: discovered item_issues_count: 1 eprint_status: archive creators_name: Gerstel, Christina creators_email: cmgerstel@yahoo.com title: Millennium Development Goal 7.C--Access to Water: An Exploratory Look at Six Countries ispublished: unpub divisions: sch_gsph_behavioralcommhealthsci full_text_status: public keywords: Water, access, development, millennium development goals abstract: At the beginning of 1980, it was estimated that 1.8 billion people, or 40 percent of the world’s population, lacked access to a safe drinking water supply. In 2000, the United Nations established the Millennium Development Goals, and among these goals is MDG 7.C, which aims to reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water. In March of 2012, the WHO and UNICEF announced that the drinking water target for MDG 7.C had been met ahead of the 2015 deadline. However, 30 years after access to safe drinking water became a global priority, millions of people around the world still lack this basic necessity. Water has many important health and developmental applications and consequences. Lack of water or access to poor quality water contributes to inadequate hygienic practices and is closely linked to diseases. High mortality and morbidity rates that result from the inaccessibility of safe water come with significant social and economic costs. With a primary emphasis on the consequences to health, the public health significance of this paper focuses on access to safe drinking water as a means to improve hygiene practices and reduce water-borne diseases. This paper explores six developing countries that have experienced different levels of success in achieving the drinking water target of MDG 7.C. As this analysis reveals, one of the biggest contributing factors that seem to have led to the success of Malawi and Burkina Faso is each country’s ability to absorb the rapid urban population growth each has experienced while still increasing the proportion of the population’s access to improved drinking water sources. Additionally, both countries have made water a specific development priority and backed this up with funding, sound policies and seemingly strong water sector authorities with clearly defined roles. There remain 780 million people without access to safe drinking water who are in constant danger of illness, disability and death. As Malawi and Burkina Faso have demonstrated, MDG 7.C can be achieved. With the right support and planning, many of the world’s poorest countries can achieve the same successes as these two countries. date: 2012-09-24 date_type: completed pages: 141 institution: University of Pittsburgh refereed: TRUE etdcommittee_type: thesis_advisor etdcommittee_type: committee_member etdcommittee_type: committee_member etdcommittee_name: Terry, Martha etdcommittee_name: Barchowsky, Aaron etdcommittee_name: Chakos, Nicholas etdcommittee_email: materry@pitt.edu etdcommittee_email: aab20@pitt.edu etdcommittee_email: chakos@pitt.edu etdcommittee_id: MATERRY etdcommittee_id: AAB20 etdcommittee_id: CHAKOS etd_defense_date: 2012-07-19 etd_approval_date: 2012-09-24 etd_submission_date: 2012-07-23 etd_release_date: 2012-09-24 etd_access_restriction: immediate etd_patent_pending: FALSE assigned_doi: doi:10.5195/pitt.etd.2012.13061 thesis_type: thesis degree: MPH citation: Gerstel, Christina (2012) Millennium Development Goal 7.C--Access to Water: An Exploratory Look at Six Countries. Master's Thesis, University of Pittsburgh. (Unpublished) document_url: http://d-scholarship-dev.library.pitt.edu/13497/1/GerstelThesisFINAL9.11.12.pdf