Copenhagen, Rome, 3 August 2005

The Protocol on Water and Health to the 1992 Convention on Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes enters into force on 4 August 2005, following ratification by the minimum 16 countries: Albania, Azerbaijan, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Norway, Romania, the Russian Federation, Slovakia and Ukraine. The Protocol will improve health by contributing to the prevention, control and reduction of water-related diseases. It covers both the provision of safe drinking-water and adequate sanitation and the basin-wide protection of water resources. The Protocol calls on the ratifying countries:

• to strengthen their health systems;
• to improve planning for and management of water resources;
• to improve the quality of water supply and sanitation services;
• to address future health risks; and
• to ensure safe recreational water environments.

  Thirty-six countries signed the Protocol during or after the Third Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health, held in London, United Kingdom in 1999. Progress made under the Protocol since then includes the building of a framework for setting country-specific targets, harmonized data collection and reporting, and water-related disease surveillance.

In the WHO European Region, the implementation of the Protocol's provisions is jointly coordinated by the WHO Regional Office for Europe and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).

"It's a significant date for public health. The Protocol on Water and Health is the world's first legally binding international agreement in the fight against water-related diseases," says Dr Marc Danzon, WHO Regional Director for Europe. "This is an effective instrument to help ratifying countries achieve the Millennium Development Goals."

Transboundary water resources are common in the Region. Some countries depend on their neighbours for over 50-90% of their water, so international cooperation is crucial to ensure the sustainable use of such resources.

Lack of safe drinking-water and poor sanitation threaten the health of millions of people in the WHO European Region. While most of the Region's 877 million people take clean water for granted, too many still lack a regular supply:

• almost 140 million (16%) do not have a household connection to a drinking-water supply;
• 85 million (10%) do not have improved sanitation; and
• over 41 million (5%) lack access to a safe drinking-water supply.

Water-related diseases of microbiological origin that are identified for priority action include cholera, bacillary dysentery, enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli, typhoid (and paratyphoid) and viral hepatitis A. The countries that are Parties to the Protocol will review their systems for disease surveillance and outbreak detection, and implement the most appropriate measures to reduce disease, including vaccination or water treatment and distribution measures. Chemical contaminants of drinking-water and related diseases are also under review.

This aspect of implementing the Protocol contributes to achieving the two Millennium Development Goals that include improving water supply and sanitation and reducing child mortality. The incidence of infectious diseases caused by poor-quality drinking-water is often highest in children aged 6-11 months. In the WHO European Region, this risk factor causes over 13 000 deaths from diarrhoea among children aged 0-14 years (5.3% of all deaths in this age group) each year, with the countries of central and Eastern Europe and central Asia bearing the largest share of the burden.

"The entry into force of the Protocol is not the end, but the beginning of a process intended to increase the number of European citizens with access to safe drinking-water and basic sanitation," concludes Dr Roberto Bertollini, Director of the Special Programme on Health and Environment at the WHO Regional Office for Europe. "We encourage countries to ratify the Protocol, thus developing a national and international system to manage and use water resources safely and sustainably, for the benefit of human health."

Further information on the Protocol and the water and sanitation programme of the WHO Regional Office for Europe is available on the Regional Office web site (http://www.euro.who.int/watsan).

For further information contact:

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

Mr Roger Aertgeerts
Regional Adviser, Water and Sanitation
WHO Regional Office for Europe
Via Francesco Crispi, 10 I-00187 Rome, Italy
Tel.: +39 06 4877528. Fax: +39 06 4877599
E-mail: rae@ecr.euro.who.int

PRESS INFORMATION

Ms Liuba Negru
Press and Media Relations Officer
WHO Regional Office for Europe
Scherfigsvej 8, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark
Tel.: +45 39 17 13 44. Fax: +45 39 17 18 80
E-mail: LNE@euro.who.int

Ms Cristiana Salvi
Technical Officer, Communication and Advocacy
WHO Regional Office for Europe
Via Francesco Crispi 10, I-00187 Rome, Italy
Tel.: +39 06 4877543. Mobile: +39 348 0192305.
Fax: +39 06 4877599
E-mail: csa@ecr.euro.who.int