Clean water and sanitation is in crisis
BOND working group, UK Water Network, believes that immediate action must be taken.
This is an important year for the world's poor. The United Nations has declared 2008 the International Year of Sanitation, and throughout it End Water Poverty campaign will be highlighting, and working hard to change, the scandalous fact that over 2.6 billion people - 40% of the world's population - do not have a safe, clean or private place to go to the toilet.
Sanitation is in crisis. There is compelling evidence that sanitation brings the greatest returns on investment of any development intervention (roughly US$9 for every US$1 spent). Yet it remains one of the most neglected and off-track of the UN Millennium Development Goal targets (agreed by all world governments to halve poverty by 2015).
In the developing world, the costs of not investing in sanitation and water are huge - infant deaths, lost work days and missed school are estimated to have an economic cost of at least US$38 billion per year, with sanitation accounting for 92% of this value. In Africa it is estimated that 5% of GDP (national income) is lost to the illnesses and deaths caused by poor sanitation. And yet the potential returns are so great that sanitation, in effect, pays for itself many times over. Faced with the evidence, governments must act now to tackle this crisis.
This year marks the 150th anniversary of the 'Great Stink' in London. In 1858 the stench from the lack of sanitation made the River Thames so vile that MPs were forced to act. The resulting expansion of sanitation infrastructure in the 1880s contributed to a 15 year increase in life expectancy in the following four decades, one of the most dramatic health improvements in history. The kind of political action shown in London in 1858 must be taken across the developing world and 2008 is the year to make this change happen. It is time for action not words, and it is time to make a stink about sanitation.
End Water Poverty is calling on the Japanese Prime Minister to ensure the G8 makes an extraordinary effort and agrees a global action plan for sanitation and water in 2008.
With the right political will, changes can take place that will have huge returns on public health and poverty reduction. Take action online.
The coalition is formed of like-minded organisations from around the world. To date there are over 60 members and this is continuously growing. Organisations wishing to join should download the Programme for Action and if in agreement with the principles of the campaign and are able to take actions then join End Water Poverty today!
The UK Water Network is a BOND working group that exchanges information, enhances analysis and coordinates advocacy towards the UK Government and other relevant institutions on freshwater issues.
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At the AfricaSan conference in Durban 18 - 22 February 2008, it was announced that a large group of West African organisations and civil society groups are joining the global End Water Poverty campaign. Abdul Nashiru stated, "End Water Poverty West Africa will use its regional and international influence to raise the sanitation profile and support civil society coalitions to increase pressure on governments and donors to tackle the sanitation crisis. It is very appropriate that we should be launching the campaign here in South Africa, where the government has shown that the sanitation target is achievable when there is political will."