The world has met the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of halving the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water, well in advance of the MDG 2015 deadline, according to a report issued on March 6, 2012 by UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO). Between 1990 and 2010, over two billion people gained access to improved drinking water sources, such as piped supplies and protected wells.
In a bid to improve the health and well-being of millions of people worldwide, the United Nations on 21 June 2011 launched a major push to accelerate progress towards the goal of halving, by 2015, the proportion of the population without access to basic sanitation.
Japan declared it would double its aid to Africa in the next three years as well as increase the volume of its official development assistance (ODA) by US$ 10 billion in aggregate over the next five years.