Abstract
Safely managed drinking water services (SMDWS) is the service ladder used for the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) monitoring of drinking water and expands on the Millennium Development Goal metric (“improved water source”) with three additional criteria, namely: availability when needed, accessibility on premises, and safety (free from faecal and priority chemical contamination). Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) have been used for progress monitoring accounting for a significant fraction of the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) indicator data. In its most recent iteration MICS now includes additional SMDWS indicators. The objective of this study was to report on recent SDG target 6.1 baseline data on SMDWS from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea gathered from a MICS conducted in 2017. Survey results indicated that 93.7% of the population used an improved drinking water source, but when this was combined with the SDG criteria of water availability, accessibility, and safety, coverage was reduced to 92.3, 78.2, and 74.4%, respectively. This resulted in estimates that 60.9% of the population used a SMDWS. The survey results illustrate how the improved SDG indicators can highlight the required gaps to be overcome with regard to universal and equitable access to SMDWS. Further analysis and discussion regarding water quality deterioration between source and household as well as population residence, wealth group index, geographical distribution, and other characteristics relative to SMDWS indicators are also further analysed and discussed.
Highlights
During the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) era (2000–2015), access to drinking water was assessed using a simple “improved/unimproved” source type classification to monitor progress towards target 7C to halve, by 2015, “the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water”[1]
The overall objective of this study was to provide further analysis and discussion on the new Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 6.1 indicators for safely managed drinking water services (SMDWS) from a recent Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) conducted in the DPRK9
Over half (55.6%) the population used drinking water piped into dwelling, with pronounced differences between urban and rural residents (66.4 and 38.7%, respectively) and the 40% highest and the 20% lowest wealth index groups (WIGs) (76.2 and 23.6%, respectively)
Summary
During the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) era (2000–2015), access to drinking water was assessed using a simple “improved/unimproved” source type classification to monitor progress towards target 7C to halve, by 2015, “the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water”[1]. According to the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP), an improved drinking water source is considered to be one that could adequately protect the source from outside (faecal) contamination by nature of its construction[2]. In addition to safely managed, other household water service classifications are basic (i.e., improved source with collection time 30 min), unimproved (i.e., unprotected dug well or spring as source), and no service (i.e., direct use of surface water source).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
