There is a debate in the developing world on public health vs health care . Public health deals with preventive aspects of health & can be done by the public sector only . Health care deals with treatment of diseases & can be done by both public & private sector . There is an impression that health authorities concentrate more on health care than public health . Safe drinking water , sanitation & hand wash are important components of public health .

  I hope target 7c of the Millennium Development goals ( MDGs )  which deals with access to safe drinking water & basic sanitation is implemented by the various governments of developing countries & make a definite impact on health care indices . It is very essential that all of us are aware of the importance of public heath in reducing diseases & participate in a big way to make it successful .

Mark, sadly it seems that human nature is to avoid concern about sickness until people are already sick.  This pervades all our approaches to public health, and we have actually moved backwards in many ways since the early 1900's with water projects and mosquito control became important public health measures.  Our success in creating pharmaceuticals, antibiotics, and vaccines has distracted us from what I believe are the more important matters of water treatment, hygiene, sewage treatment, sanitation, and vector control.  Now it seems there is at least some change as we see the rise of antibiotic and drug resistance, and as major diseases continue to defeat us.  The good news is that many are beginning to look at hygiene and sanitation again.  Big philanthropies like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation are doing a lot to bring sanitation back into the higher-level conversation.  If you want to follow the action by many groups around the world addressing these sanitation issues, you might want to join Twitter, do searches for water issues and related topics, and start following these groups.  Lots of good information every day.  To start, you can follow me on Twitter:  @davidbruceconn

Water and sanitation are needs of the poor and marginalized populations in the developing countries. Like other social economic rights, they have been subjected to progressive realization by Governments, to be addressed subject to availability of funds. Most Governments do not have the resources to meet the water and sanitation demands of their  fast growing populations. Besides, developing countries  argue that there are more urgent needs, such as addressing Ebola, HIV/AIDS Malaria, illiteracy and poverty than water and sanitation. But viewing water and sanitation as one issue might give you a wrong impression since governments are actually addressing water while sanitation is not being addressed.  Sanitation is considered peripheral because  does not bring income the way water supplies does.  Lack of  safe and adequate Sanitation is associated with much economic losses  but this has not translated to incentives for  governments to give it priority as much as,  say water supplies , private public partnerships. The latter generates income for governments and water utilities more than sanitation could.

If sanitation was a problem of the developed countries, or rich neighborhood in developing countries  it could have been addressed successfully the way London dealt with cholera in the 19th century; enacted public health Act, town planning Act and sewered every household. This is the  desired solution for developing countries.