HIV/AIDS and its implications for the water and sanitation

For the Water and Sanitation sector, the epidemic jeopardizes the Millennium Development Goal to halve the proportion of people, who are unable to reach or afford safe drinking water, and the goal set in the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002 to halve the number of people without access to improved sanitation. In many affected countries, there is or will be a negative impact on the quantity and quality of services provided by the sector. Not only will the budget be reduced because of a decreased tax base and reduced government budget, but sector staff performance will also decline as a result of diminishing productivity and capacity. At the same time community capacity to operate and maintain the systems is reduced. So far, the response of the water and sanitation sector to the HIV/AIDS epidemic has been limited. The aim of this article is to explain the links between the sector and prevention and mitigation of HIV/AIDS and to discuss the implications of HIV/AIDS on sector performance.