Rapid assessment of drinking-water quality
The JMP Rapid assessment of drinking-water quality (RADWQ) was conceived by WHO and UNICEF to explore the quality of drinking-water from "improved" sources. Results in five pilot countries showed a wide range of conditions, from full compliance with the WHO Drinking-water Quality Guidelines to specific sources in a given country only meeting standards in 34% of the samples. Further efforts along the lines of RADWQ will take global water quality testing out of the strict sphere of monitoring into the broader field of capacity development. The RADWQ handbook describes the methods and procedures applied by WHO and UNICEF in the five countries, for adoption by any authority or institution that wants to prepare a snapshot of the quality of "improved" sources of drinking-water, as a first step towards strengthening drinking-water quality regulations.