The present report, JMP Report 2004, was prepared by the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP).  It is intended as a “reality check" for individual countries and the international community on how far we have come, and where we need to focus next, to achieve the 2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The report provides coverage data for water and sanitation for 1990 and 2002 at national, regional and global levels, as well as an analysis of trends towards 2015.  Although published in 2004, the report covers progress towards the seventh MDG up to the year 2002.  This is the last year for which comprehensive data are available and it represents the halfway mark towards the 2015 MDG deadline, because the baseline year for most of the MDG targets, water and sanitation targets included, was set as 1990.

This report also marked the beginning of a more frequent reporting cycle, which will be helpful to policy-makers, scientists and others who wish to build sector capacity at national and subnational levels. Please note that the figures found in this MDG midterm assessment report may differ from those found on this web site, since the web-site data are regularly updated.