The remote provincial towns and the burgeoning mega cities all need major investments in water utilities. This will be costly, and in many cases impossible without financial help. But the ultimate price of a failure to invest in clean water supplies – in health care costs, lost productivity, and ultimately, human lives – far outweighs the expense of spending what is necessary now.

For several decades, the United Nations has been supporting government efforts to improve water resource management and access to safe drinking water for rural areas and acknowledges the importance of improving conditions for rural school children by providing them with access to a clean water supply, sanitary toilets, health education and technical training.

This week, together with our partners including the Ministry of Water Resources (MWR), China International Center for Economic and Technical Exchange (CICETE) and Coca-Cola, UNDP launched a four-year initiative aimed to improve water resources management and drinking water safety in rural China. This builds on the integrated UN programs across China to improve sanitation and access to clean and safe water for impoverished communities.

World Water Day offers a chance to spotlight these issues. If we take up the challenge, the positive impact will reverberate far beyond better access to clean water. Every dollar invested in water and sanitation yields an estimated seven dollars worth of productive activity. And that comes on top of the immeasurable gains in cutting poverty, improving health and raising living standards.

We have a collective responsibility to succeed. It is difficult to imagine a better investment in health and wellbeing of Chinese people, especially children.

The author is the United Nations Development Program resident representative in China

(China Daily March 21, 2008)