Maputo, 10 November 2006 - Witnessed by high level Government officials, donor community, civil society organizations, private sector and media representatives, UNDP Mozambique yesterday launched the Human Development Report 2006 in Maputo. Titled Beyond scarcity: power, poverty and the global water crisis, the report ranks Mozambique at 168 in the Human Development Index out of 177 countries surveyed, which posts the country above Angola, Sierra Leone and Swaziland but below Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea.

Human development is defined as a process of expanding the choices of people and the constant improvement of their well-being. These are usually reflected in a long and healthy life; acquisition of knowledge and access to the required resources for adequate standard of living. This year’s human development index highlights the very large gaps in well being and life chances that continue to divide the world.

“Delivering clean water, removing waste water, and providing sanitation are three of the most basic foundations for human progress,” says the 2006 Human Development Report. But 1.1 billion people do not have access to water, and 2.6 billion do not have access to sanitation.

The Report adds: “Not having access to clean water is a euphemism for profound deprivation. It means that people walk more than one kilometer to the nearest source of clean water for drinking, that they collect water from drains, ditches or streams that might be infected with pathogens and bacteria that can cause severe illness and death.”

Speaking at the launching ceremony, UNDP Resident Representative and UN Resident Coordinator, Mr. Ndolamb Ngokwey, explained that the report outlines clear and practical actions that are required of Governments and citizens. “Because of its importance towards achieving the MDGs” he stressed “water and sanitation needs to be a central part of our national development priorities and we need to strengthen public participation in national planning”.

At the occasion, a Mozambican expert with more than 27 years in the water sector and is currently heading an independent water regulator body, Mr. Manuel Alvarinho, delivered a presentation that highlighted the challenges Mozambique is confronted with in the sphere of water and sanitation.

Today the national average regarding safe water is a coverage of about 42 percent of an estimated population of 17 million. According to His Excellency the Minister of Science and Technology, Mr Venâncio Massingue, who honoured the ceremony with his presence and chaired the debate which lasted about half an hour, “the Mozambican Government intends that water supply coverage rises to around 70 percent by 2015.”

The water potentially available per capita in Mozambique is estimated at 5,556 cubic meters per inhabitant per year.

For more information, please contact:

Nelson Xavier, UNDP Communication Officer.

Mobile phone: + 258 82 3140600

Office + 258 21 481438

E-mail: nelson.xavier@undp.org

UNDP is the UN’s global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 166 countries, working with them on their own solutions to global and national development challenges. As they develop local capacity, they draw on the people of UNDP and our wide range of partners.