Why is it difficult for the governments of developing countries to provide their citizens with clean water and sewage treatment

Barriers to addressing water problems in developing nations include poverty, climate change, and poor governance. The contamination of water still remains a huge problem because of the normalization of practices that pollute the quality of water bodies.

Explanation: Developing countries remained the weakest link in the global chain of sustainable development, as poverty, hunger, deteriorating environments and infectious diseases exerted unprecedented pressure on them, China’s delegate told the Commission on Sustainable Development today, as it concluded its general debate. Stressing the severe imbalance in sustainable development worldwide, he urged all players to implement their commitments with firm political will, action-oriented programmed and innovative measures.  Developed countries must fulfil their financial commitments and technology transfer, change unsustainable production and consumption patterns and reduce waste discharge, and developing countries must reverse the pattern of pollution first and control second, he said. Concerns raised during the general debate were amplified in two panel discussions on water and sanitation, with speakers highlighting the lack of water infrastructure in developing and transitional countries, and the need for integrated water resources management, river-basin management, more efficient use of water, anti-pollution measures, and better consumption policies.  Several speakers also noted that considerable sums of money were being spent on developing water resources purely for profit that were accessible only to the rich -- out of reach of the poor.