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Although the percentage of people with access to improved sanitation rose from 36 percent in 1990 to 58 percent in 2010, 1.74 billion people in Asia and the Pacific continue to live without access to improved sanitation. More than 792 million people still suffer the indignity of practicing open defecation, and more than 631 million of these people live in rural South Asia. There are bright spots, with Southeast Asia making rapid progress, expanding coverage by 23 percent between 1990 and 2010, and East Asia by 35 percent. The gap between rich and poor is a big factor when it comes to water access and management, the report said. In South Asia, led by Bangladesh, it is estimated that up to 96 percent the rural rich have access to sanitation, compared to only 2 percent to 4 percent of the rural poor. There has been little progress on improving access to sanitation in the Pacific islands, the ADB said. "In Asia and the Pacific, the correlation between income and access is unequivocal
-the wealthy have better access than the poor to water supply and sanitation. In addition, the disparity is growing, especially in the burgeoning smaller cities across the region," the ADB said.
Differences between richer and poorer communities amount to 96 percent in Nepal and 92 percent in Cambodia, India, and Pakistan, it said. In India and the Philippines, another study by the U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific found that public utilities responsible for providing water and sanitation services "lack capacity in all aspects of sustainability, including effective functioning, financing, and demand responsiveness." ___ Online: Asian Development Bank: http://www.adb.org/
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