The Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) published a report on 6 July in Geneva assessing the progress achieved with regard to the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). More than halfway to the 2015 deadline, the important progress made in the fight against poverty and hunger is starting to slow down and in some cases regress due to the global economic and food crises. Nevertheless, access to drinking water, which is Target 3 (Halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water) of MDG no. 7 (Ensure environmental sustainability), is on track to be achieved by most of the affected countries.

“Water for All: An OECD Perspective in Pricing and Financing” report, was launched yesterday at the World Water Forum in the presence of Angel Gurria, OECD’s secretary-general.

The report calls for a new financing model of water and sanitation services in developing countries based on the “3Ts”: tariffs, taxes and transfers.