Follow up to High Level Meeting (HLM) of Sanitation and Water for All

press release

High Level Forum Calls for Improved Targeting of Aid for Sanitation and Water, Donor Coordination, and Practical Solutions

Financial commitments and coordinated action needed to trigger positive outcomes for water and sanitation sector

Washington D.C. / USA, April 28, 2010 – Finance and Water Sector Ministers representing 18 countries met Friday with representatives of 13 donors, seven UN agencies and civil society for the First Annual High Level Meeting (HLM) of Sanitation and Water for All. The meeting, held at the World Bank, was hosted by UNICEF on behalf of the new Sanitation and Water for All partnership, and aimed to shape sector dialogue and to stimulate aid targeting, donor coordination, and on-the-ground action to ensure access to sanitation and safe drinking water for the billions who have none.

The meeting was co-chaired by HRH Prince Willem-Alexander from the Netherlands, Chair of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation and Mr. Saad Houry, Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF.  Event participants took stock of progress, shared best practices, explored the linkages between water, sanitation, economic growth and health, and committed to addressing appropriate allocations for these basic services.

Hon. Buyelwa Patience Sonjica, Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, South Africa and Chair of the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW), on behalf of the 15 water and sanitation Ministers in attendance, specifically urged donors to increase the percentage of sector aid allocations to basic services from the current 16% to 27% and the percentage of sector aid going to low-income countries from 42% to 50%.
She noted that sixty Africans die every hour because of water-related diseases, and an estimated 672 million have no access to safe drinking-water. To address what she described as an untenable situation with staggering health, social, and economic impacts, participants needed to “stop talking and start acting. We have the capacity and commitment to turn this situation around. It is a matter of life and death.”

Citing the Secretary of State Clinton’s recent “water defines our planet” statement, Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Maria Otero explained that for the US, water is a global imperative and one of the most pressing foreign policy challenges of the 21st century, and that the US is ramping up its efforts to build capacity, strengthen diplomatic efforts, build political will, mobilize support, and harness water and sanitation technologies, in addition to proposing a multi-donor technical assistance mechanism.

“No one country can address the challenges alone. Each must take responsibility for local and regional solutions, investing in people, infrastructure, and cutting-edge technologies. Sound water and sanitation sector planning and strategic donor planning and coordination are also needed,” she explained. She challenged donors to better align their assistance to national priorities and to work with partners, and she challenged all meeting participants to leave with greater resolve and to translate words into concrete action on the ground.

Dr. Maria Neira, Director of the Department of Public Health and Environment at the World Health Organization (WHO) presented findings and analysis from the UN-Water Global Annual Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water (GLAAS) to provide context and inform the deliberations. “Forty percent of the global population is without access to basic sanitation and 13% without access to safe drinking-water. This trend cannot continue. We need to improve and target investments, make the most of limited resources, and push for stronger partnerships and better donor coordination. It’s time for committed involvement by all parties,” she said. “The economic case for sanitation and drinking-water is no longer in doubt. It is the key to development, human progress and dignity. Water defines our health, and for WHO, there is no health without sanitation and drinking water.”

“There is clearly a shift in sector dialogue indicating that water and sanitation are the missing link in achieving many of the Millennium Development Goals. In preparation for this meeting, Ministries of Finance in 18 countries worked with Ministers responsible for sanitation and water  to examine current progress, determine national budget allocations and identify investment gaps,” explained Clarissa Brocklehurst, UNICEF Chief of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH). “This process has engaged government officials at the highest levels and increased their knowledge and understanding of the economic impacts of sector investments and the huge potential benefits for public health, gender equity, poverty reduction and economic growth,” she said.

Overall, the High Level Meeting participants called for more synergies and commitment, continued dialogue, better use of resources, capacity building, human resource development, increased water and sanitation sector planning, public-private partnerships, development of integrated approaches, and evidence-based decision-making.

As a framework for action, Sanitation and Water for All will serve as a means to coordinate efforts globally and link those efforts to country level dialogue and actions. Commitments from this first annual meeting have been documented and the GLAAS report will be one of the mechanisms partners use to monitor these commitments and progress over time.

“This event is a testament to the seriousness of our intention to chart a new course for the sector. Sanitation and water are a cornerstone of development and crucial to ensuring the survival and development of children. The sector needs more attention, more investments, and better targeting of those investments,” noted UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Saad Houry.
…
About Sanitation and Water for All SAN4ALL
Sanitation and Water for All is a global partnership aimed at achieving universal and sustainable access to sanitation and drinking-water for all, by firmly placing sanitation and water on the global agenda with an immediate focus on achieving the MDGs in the most off-track countries.

For further SAN4ALL information please visit:

http://www.unwater.org/activities_san4all.html

[also:]
http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/glaas

For further information please contact:
# UNICEF: Ms. Saira S Khan, UNICEF Media, New York, Tel: 1 212 326 7224, Email:sskhan@unicef.org

washlink notes:

for other perspectives see

• So, what happened at the High Level Meeting on Sanitation and Water? By fannetwork
• Impacts of neglecting investment in sanitation and water under-estimated, say 20 water ministers from Africa and Asia by WASH News International

Impacts of neglecting investment in sanitation and water under-estimated, say 20 water ministers from Africa and Asia

The Global Annual Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water (GLAAS) is out

UN-Water Global Annual Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water (GLAAS)

The Global Annual Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water (GLAAS) is a UN-Water initiative implemented by the World Health Organization (WHO). The objective of UN-Water GLAAS is to provide policy makers at all levels with a reliable, easily accessible, comprehensive and global analysis of the evidence to make informed decisions in sanitation and drinking-water.

With over 2.6 billion people living without access to improved sanitation facilities, and nearly 900 million people not receiving their drinking-water from improved water sources, UN-Water GLAAS highlights where efforts stagnate in achieving the Millennium Development Goal Target 7.C.−to halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking-water and basic sanitation. It also highlights the post-2015 challenges that need to be addressed by the United Nations system to collectively support its Member States.

The findings from the UN-Water GLAAS report will be presented at the first annual High-Level Meeting of Sanitation and Water for All, hosted by UNICEF on 23 April 2010 in Washington, DC. The High Level Meeting will provide a forum for Ministers of Finance from developing countries, accompanied by Ministers responsible for sanitation and water, and representatives from donor countries to gain a greater understanding of the linkages between water, sanitation, and economic growth, in order to commit the appropriate resources, as well as to promote a culture of mutual accountability, partnership and shared responsibility.

Watsan progress – OR NOT

The Guardian posted  whats surly to be controversial article, speaking with Prof Asit Biswas, where he make the statements  leading to the byline Water pollution expert derides UN sanitation claims. The artilce by Juliette Jowit guardian.co.uk,  quotes Prof Biswas  as saying:

"The shadow of a woman collecting drinking water from a communal tap is cast on a wall in the squatter suburb of Kliptown in Johannesburg. Photograph: Saurabh Das/AP"

“If somebody has a well in a town or village in the developing world and we put concrete around the well – nothing else – it becomes an ‘improved source of water’; the quality is the same but you have ‘improved’ the physical structure, which has no impact,” said Biswas. “They are not only underestimating the problem, they are giving the impression the problem is being solved. What I’m trying to say is that’s a bunch of baloney.”

This is in apparent frustration to reports fro the UN

according to Juliette Jowit : ‘In its latest report on the progress of the UN Millennium Development Goal to halve the proportion of people lacking access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation, the World Health Organisation said that since 1990 1.3 billion people had gained access to improved drinking water and 500 million better sanitation. The world was on course to “meet or exceed” the water target, it said, but was likely to miss the sanitation goal by nearly 1 billion people.’

I assume people in the field will  be backing Prof Asit Biswas, while I fear those in the mas media and in power will take the UN finding at face value,  diminishing the focus of the on  Watsan  and millennium goals.

Impact of sanitation on survival

worthy of reprinting:  Here is the beginning of a great article by Francisca Oluyole in the Daily Triumph

Impact of sanitation on survival
By Francisca Oluyole

Water

UNICEF reports recently indicated that diarrhea prevalence rate in Nigeria is 18.8 per cent.
The rate, according to the report, is “one of the worst in sub-Saharan Africa”.
For many experts, the situation is “just not good enough” for a leading producer of crude oil, especially as children remain the worst victims of such a preventable disease.
Associated mostly with vomiting, purging and dehydration, diarrhea has been identified by the Nigerian health authorities as the second largest direct cause of child morbidity and mortality in Nigeria.
According to statistics from UNICEF, diarrhea accounts for more than 16 per cent of child deaths. That is a total of 150,000 deaths amongst children under five, annually.
Experts trace the disease to a lack of access to basic sanitation facilities and poor hygiene practices.
They say it is closely connected with malnourishment, as undernourished children usually have a compromised immune system and are also at a higher risk of developing pneumonia.
Recent reports from the World Health Organisation (WHO) have confirmed that Nigerian children will continue to be victims of diarrhea as the country is said to be one of the seven high-population countries with
total sanitation coverage of less than 50 per cent.
In effect, less than half of the population has access to improved sanitation and the access is as low as 10 per cent in some states with the situation worse in the rural areas.
The situation, according to the reports, has worsened in the last two decades, with environmental sanitation problems resulting in an escalating negative impact on public and environmental health.
Experts say poor environmental sanitation in Nigeria is characterised by the presence of heaps of refuse in cities, indiscriminate disposal of solid and other wastes, blocked drains, overgrown weeds, among others.
The state of food sanitation in homes, markets and abattoirs is equally appalling and unwholesome as food meant for human consumption is exposed to dust, flies, bacteria and other micro-organisms, they say.
The experts say that such probably accounts for the increasing cases of food-borne diseases such as cholera, food poisoning and typhoid fever.
According to Mr Jones Abari, an Abuja-based community health expert, the lack of safe and private toilets and hand-washing facilities in schools has ensured a quicker development of sanitation-related diseases on children. ….

to read full article  by Francisca Oluyole in Daily Triumph go to http://www.triumphnewspapers.com/impact1522010.html R/AUWAL 1 1431 A.H. published MONDAY  FEBRUARY 15 2010.

Publication of the first GLAAS report is scheduled for March 2010.

GLAAS initiative

Global Annual Assessment on Sanitation and Drinking-water

WHO is leading the GLAAS initiative on behalf of UN-Water. Publication of the first GLAAS report is scheduled for March 2010.

The UN-Water  Secretariat requested a report on progress in the assessment and how its results will fit into the Global Framework for Action on Sanitation and Water Supply. The information is available on the following web

UN-Water, an inter-agency mechanism formally established in 2003 by the United Nations High Level Committee on Programmes, has evolved out of a history of close collaboration among UN agencies. It was created to add value to UN initiatives by fostering greater co-operation and information-sharing among existing UN agencies and outside partners

UN-Water focuses on:

• Providing information policy briefs and other communication materials for policy- makers and managers who work directly with water issues, other decision-makers that have an influence on how water is used, as well as the general public.

• Building the knowledge base on water issues through efficient monitoring and reporting systems and facilitating easy access to this knowledge through regular reports and the Internet.
• Providing a platform for system-wide discussions to identify challenges in global water management, analyse options for meeting these challenges and ensuring that reliable information and sound analysis informs the global policy debate on water.

Related Sites:

Interview with  Federico Properzi who is a technical officer with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the project manager for UN-Water’s Global Annual Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water (GLAAS).

UN Water Documents

WHO Water Sanitation and Health (WSH)

GLAAS

WHO’s new report: “Diarrhoea: why children are still dying and what can be done”

While this is being covered everywhere , I thought it is worth  mentioning.  It seems important that in this report  WHO is stressing Zink tablets in conjunction   the oral rehydration solution (ORS)  The tables and charts provide excellent statistic for fundraisers and agencies wanting to bring help and awareness. For those in the field there are important points to note but ones  in the field may ask  “tell us something we don’t know”

Recognition  of the reality that “WASH/WATSAN”  address seems to be following the same slow path of   Global Warming (and other critical realities) ,  taking its time  to come to be mainstream and get the energy it deserves. Hopefully the material presented within  shall be an effective red flag to wave to get recognition and resources.

the publication Diarrhoea: why children are still dying and what can be done is available in pdf format for viewing

from the press release:

Past success and present needs

Campaigns targeting childhood diarrhoea in the 1970s and 1980s achieved success by scaling up the use of oral rehydration solution (ORS) to prevent dehydration and by educating caregivers. In spite of the promising results of these campaigns, in recent years the international community has shifted its focus to other global emergencies. There is now an urgent need to focus once more on preventing and treating diarrhoea.

Treatment with ORS and zinc tablets

WHO and UNICEF recommend treating diarrhoea with low-osmolarity ORS and zinc tablets, which decrease the severity and duration of the attack. These treatments are simple, inexpensive and life-saving.

Access to clean water and good hygiene practices are extremely effective in preventing childhood diarrhoea. Hand washing with soap has been shown to reduce the incidence of diarrhoeal disease by over 40 per cent, making it one of the most cost-effective interventions for reducing child deaths from this neglected killer.

from the publication:

printable version Diarrhoea: why children are still dying and what can be done

For a number of years, there was one zinc product that met quality standards for international procurement by UNICEF. Zinc is now procured by UNICEF, governments and
other agencies and is manufactured locally in a handful of countries. However, meeting policy and regulatory requirements for importing a new product continues to present challenges for zinc introduction in many countries. Moreover, changing child health treatment recommendations nationally can also be difficult.

Compounding the problem is the fact that initial start-up funds for these new treatments can be significant, and beyond the scope of regular health budgets. In addition, many countries are hesitant to buy zinc because they have little experience with it as part of diarrhoea management programmes: They are unsure of the demand and are reluctant to devote funds to one-time start-up activities, such as developing training materials. ….

The challenges of scaling up zinc and increasing usage rates of ORS are steep, but not prohibitive. A renewed call to action is needed to ensure that increasing coverage
of diarrhoea treatment interventions becomes an international
priority.
pulications Sources: Global Zinc Task Force, 2009; UNICEF Supply Division, 2009.

WHO Technical Notes for Emergencies prepared by WEDC

from WEDC The Water, Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC) at Loughborough University

“Please be advised that the latest version of the WHO Technical Notes for Emergencies prepared by WEDC…”

http://wedc.lboro.ac.uk/knowledge/notes_emergencies.html

Titles include:

Please click below to view pdfs of the World Health Organization Technical Notes for Emergencies.

1. Cleaning and disinfecting wells
2. Cleaning and disinfecting boreholes
3. Cleaning and disinfecting water storage tanks and tankers
4. Rehabilitating small-scale piped water distribution systems
5. Emergency treatment of drinking water at the point of use
6. Rehabilitating water treatment works after an emergency
7. Solid waste management in emergencies
8. Disposal of dead bodies
9. How much water is needed
10. Hygiene promotion in emergencies
11. Measuring chlorine levels in water supplies
12. Delivering safe water by tanker
13. Planning for excreta disposal in emergencies
14. Technical options for excreta disposal
15. Cleaning wells after seawater flooding