achieving their objective of providing water and sanitation services, such projects yield greater economic and social benefits that extend beyond the community itself. This is a result of redirecting efforts and time saved, particularly by women, who often spend as much as five hours daily carrying water, into productive activities, improving the health of the population, and providing water resources for other activities such as growing vegetables. The involvement of the community in the planning, building and operation of water supply and sanitation facilities often yields a strengthening of community organisations and of managerial capabilities that can be transferred to other types of enterprises. It is now uxderstood that the availability of suitable water supply and sanitation facilities provides a stimulus to the development of household commercial activities. 40. The provision of adequate water supply and sanitation facilities is known to be effective in reducing the incidence of infectious diseases. However, national disease reporting systems do not provide sufficiently accurate or comprehensive information to predict in global terms the number of cases of diarrhoea1 diseases prevented during the Decade due to the expansion of water supply and sanitation coverage. Nevertheless, as summarized in table 1 below, the results of recent studies carried out in the course of the Decade m/ indicate that improvements in the provision of water supply and/or sanitation have yielded significant reductions in the incidence of diarrhoea1 morbidity.A/45/327 English Page 12 WI. wtase reduction in dismeal mo&$&l&yrates ed to water so excram (from an ana?ysis of independent studies) Type of intervention Number of studiesPercentage reduction Median Range- Studies containing references to all interventions 53 22 o-100 Studies containing references to improvements in water quality only 9 16 9-90 Studies containing references to improvements in water availability only 17 25 O-100 Studies containing references to improvements in water quality and
**Analysis**
The text discusses the benefits of providing water and sanitation services, including economic and social benefits, improved health, and increased productivity. It highlights the impact on women, community organizations, and household commercial activities. The text also mentions the reduction in incidence of infectious diseases and the correlation between improved water supply and sanitation and reduced diarrheal morbidity. Based on these points, it seems that the text is primarily focused on the social and economic benefits of providing water and sanitation services.

**Category**
Health, Economic development