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Synopses of Research Articles Birth Rate Increases following Improved Rural Water Supply DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.0030133 Development efforts in rural Africa over the last few decades The study involved a rural area where some villages had have achieved improvements in living conditions and in health. benefi ted from the provision of a tapped water supply. It has been argued that when such changes occur, there will be a Previously, women had to walk long distances (up to 30 km) subsequent reduction in birth rates, and experience in other parts to fetch their families’ water in clay pots. The development of the developing world has tended to bear out this prediction. program reduced the time they spent carrying water each day However, birth rates in rural Africa remain high and the population from about three hours to about 15 minutes. The researchers continues to grow rapidly. The situation in Ethiopia provides collected information over a four-year period, including for an illustration; spiraling population growth and slow economic both villages where tapped water had been introduced and for growth are widely considered to be the main factors that have others where it had not. In total, nearly 2,000 households were fuelled this country’s repeated humanitarian crises. included. The nutritional status of the women and children (in On the basis of current trends, it is predicted that Africa’s terms of body mass index) was also measured. The researchers population will double in the next 50 years, but in many found that the availability of tapped water improved the survival countries, the resources are currently not available to sustain of young children, although their nutritional status actually such a level of