Access to, and use of, the resource
There is presently no coherent analysis of the relationship between
poverty and water access and use. It may be classified according to
water accessibility, to income and living standards, to the satisfaction of
'needs' or to the demand for health, education, electricity and other
services. Although water is today acknowledged an 'economic good', its
role in economic productivity, eco-system integrity, and socio-economic
status, including that of women, is neglected. The range of poverty
analysis relating to water is thus both weak and narrow.