---

Dept for International Development

Answer

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what percentage of people in Iraq she estimates had access to clean water in (a) 1980, (b) 1990, (c) 1996, (d) 1998 and (e) 2000. [101733] Clare Short: It is difficult to find clear statistics on access to clean water in Iraq. The WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation Coverage, the official UN reference system for monitoring water coverage statistics, provides figures for most of the years in question. (Given the difficulties in routinely measuring safe water, their surveys measure the presence of water facilities of different technology types. Improved water supplies are defined as those inherently safer than other types of supplies. They include: household connection; public standpipe; bore hole; protected dug well; protected spring; or rainwater collection. Not improved water supplies include: unprotected well; unprotected spring; vendor-provided water; bottled water; tanker truck- provided water.) In their estimates for 1980-2000, the following figures for access to improved water supplies in Iraq are provided: Percentage _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Year Urban Rural 1985 100 54 1988 100 72 1990 93 41 1996 96 48 2000 (estimate) 96 48 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. DFID cannot confirm the reliability of these figures. It should be noted that, while water is supplied to most urban households (and therefore classified as `improved'), a high proportion of this water is not treated. There are also understood to be significant regional disparities in supply coverage within Iraq.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

101733; 401 c513W

Session

2002-03

Subjects

Iraq Water Water supply

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk