亞洲開發銀行日前已決定持續與聯合國人居署（UN-HABITAT）保持合作關係，以加強對部分亞洲極貧困都市在安全飲用水以及公共衛生設施上的投資。
在這項合作關係中，還包含了亞洲城市水計畫（Water in Asian Cities Program）的執行，這一連串的合作計畫預期將延續到2011年，雙邊組織將分別投入1千萬美元補助款，為2003年雙方開始合作時的兩倍之多。
亞洲開發銀行區域暨永續發展部巫瓊文（Woochong Um）表示，「亞洲開發銀行預期5年內在都市民生用水供應及公共衛生方面投入約10億美元的資金。這筆款項挹注是2006年至2010年亞洲開發銀行水資助總體計畫中的一部分，最終目標是希望能大幅促進相關建設的投資額，每年投入金額將超過20億美元。」
亞洲開發銀行與聯合國人居署夥伴關係的目標包括：改善亞洲貧困地區的水資源供應與公共衛生設施，使亞洲城市有能力確保與運用補助金額，以及協助亞洲地區達到聯合國千禧年發展目標──2015年以前將沒有安全飲用水與良好衛生設施的人口比率減半。
The Asian Development Bank has decided to continue its partnership with UN-HABITAT to increase investments in safe drinking water and sanitation facilities for some of Asia's poorest urban areas.
The partnership, which carries the Water in Asian Cities Program, will extend to 2011 with each organization committing $10 million in grant funds - twice the amount committed in 2003 when the two agencies began this collaboration.
"Over the next five years, ADB expects to invest about $1 billion in urban water supply and sanitation. The investments will be part of ADB's Water Financing Program 2006-2010 to boost investments in the water sector to well over $2 billion a year," said Woochong Um, a director in the Asian Development Bank's Regional and Sustainable Development Department.
The partnership was established to improve water supply and sanitation services to the urban poor in Asia, build the capacity of Asian cities to secure and manage investments, and to help the region meet the Millennium Development Goal of halving by 2015 the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation.
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