The World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe has announced the ratification of the Water Protocol to the 1992 Convention on Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes. It requires parties to set targets and report progress on a variety of issues related to the surveillance and control of water-related diseases. These include the development of water management plans (Article 6), international cooperation and action (Articles 11 and 12), and public awareness and information (Article 9 and 10) and efforts related to measurements of access to safe water (Article 5 L).

Limited figures on access to potable water in the WHO European region are available. The most recent figures are available in UNICEF State of the World’s Children 2003. Mr Roger Aertgeerts, European Regional Adviser, Water and Sanitation told EEN that they hope to have more figures on access to improved water sources (urban/rural and household/standpipe or well) by the middle of next year.

From September 2005, WHO is planning to give special attention to access to water including household surveys in countries of Eastern Europe, the Caucauses and Central Asia. This is part of efforts in WHO/Unicef joint monitoring programme for the Millennium Development Goals. Mr Aertgeerts says a recent meeting has looked at how micrbiological quality could be included in this monitoring but chemical parameters will be part of a second phase.

According to WHO, more than one in six Europeans live in accommodation that lacks piped drinking water.
 Further information on the Protocol and the water and sanitation programme of the WHO Regional Office for Europe is available on the Regional Office web site