Have your voice heard, water in the post-2015 development agenda

The Thematic Consultation on Water (the water consultation) in the post-2015 development agenda is now open for inputs on the www.worldwewant2015.org/water website.

The water consultation is part of the UN-system led “global dialogue” comprising of 50 – 100 Country Consultations and eleven global Thematic Consultations, among them the one on water. It is co-led by UN-Water, UNDESA and UNICEF.

Another, but more technical consultation process started in 2011 to develop target and indicator proposals for post-2015 global monitoring of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). Leader of this technical consultation is the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation (JMP).

The water consultation aims to contribute to a shared vision on key future challenges in water and a new global water goal in the post-2015 development agenda.

Participants can engage directly on the web (www.worldwewant2015.org/water), via Twitter  @WaterPost2015 using the hashtag #waterpost2015 and on the Facebook page WaterPost2015.

The water consultation is divided into two parts: a global water consultation (21 November 2012 – 3 March 2013) and thematic sub-consultations on WASH, water resources, waste water management and water quality (mid-January – 3 March 2013). The final outcome in the form of policy recommendations will be transmitted to the High-level Panel on Post-2015 appointed by the UN Secretary General at the end of March 2013.

For more information read the full announcement and a one pager on how to engage.

Related web sites:

• The World We Want – The Post-2015 Water Thematic Consultation
• WHO / UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply and Sanitation – Post-2015 Monitoring
• UN – Beyond 2015

Jan Eliasson on the global water and sanitation crisis – TEDxUniversityofGothenburg

Using the example of Darfur where militants took over villages after poisoning wells, Jan Eliasson illustrates the link between peace and access to clean water.  He then explains the importance of Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 7, which aims to reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.

Jan Eliasson is chairman of WaterAid Sweden, former Minister of Foreign Affairs in Sweden and since 2010 he serves in the UN Secretary-General’s MDG Advocates Group.

 

Advances in sanitation bypassing the poor and rural communities

The UN’s latest Millennium Development Goals Report notes that progress in sanitation has largely bypassed the poor while rural populations remain disadvantaged.

An analysis of trends over the period 1995-2008 for three countries in Southern Asia shows that improvements in sanitation disproportionately benefited the better off, while sanitation coverage for the poorest 40 per cent of households hardly increased. Although gaps in sanitation coverage between urban and rural areas are narrowing, rural populations remain at a distinct disadvantage in a number of regions.

UN Secretary-General launches the “Sustainable Sanitation: Five-Year Drive to 2015”

United Nations, 21 June 2011—UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, along with UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake, Ugandan Minister of Water & Environment the Hon. Maria Mutagamba, and His Royal Highness the Prince of Orange, today launched the “Sustainable Sanitation: Five-Year Drive to 2015” (http://www.sanitationdrive2015.org), a push to speed up progress on the Millennium Development Goal target of improving global sanitation by 2015.

The launch took place at United Nations Headquarters in New York, with members of the Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation and other dignitaries in attendance.

Sustainable Sanitation: The Five-Year-Drive to 2015

As a follow-up to International Year of Sanitation (2008) and in the effort to attain sanitation and hygiene Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets, Sustainable Sanitation 5 Year Drive to 2015 (5YD) was conceptualized by the United Nation Secretariat Advisory Board (UNSGAB) members. The idea being that, ‘the 5YD is an advocacy vehicle to keep sanitation high on the political agenda, promote national coordination, improve sanitation monitoring while supporting sustainable sanitation solutions – all in all in an effort to meet the sanitation target. The Drive aims to invigorate, galvanize and re-focus international, regional and national activities in the field of sanitation and maintain the momentum through raising awareness and facilitating action. The concept was drafted based on a recommendation made in The UN-Water Global Annual Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking Water (GLAAS) report of 2010.

The Five Year Drive was officially adopted by Resolution A/RES/65/153 of the UN General Assembly on December 20, 2010 and now serves as a tool for engaging countries as well as non-state stakeholders for improving access to sanitation worldwide.

The official launch of 5YD will take place in the presence of the UN Secretary General during the UNSGAB meeting to be held from 21-23 June 2011 in New York City. In addition regional launches are planned at the 4th South Asian Conference on Sanitation (SACOSAN IV) in April 2011 and at the 3rd African Conference on Sanitation and Hygiene (AfricaSan3) in July 2011.

Read the full text of UN Resolution 65/153

Read the Sustainable Sanitation Alliance’s (SuSanA)” Concept Note on engagement in the five year drive for sustainable sanitation

Source: UNSGAB, 21 Dec 2010

Sanjay Wijesekera chosen as Vice-Chair of Sanitation and Water for All Steering Committee

Following the formalisation of the Sanitation and Water for All partnership in September 2010, the Steering Committee has selected Mr. Sanjay Wijesekera, a Steering Committee Member representing the British Government, to be the Vice-Chair of the Partnership. The Steering Committee is currently searching for a high-profile Chair.

Mr. Sanjay Wijesekera is the team leader for the water and sanitation team in the Policy Division of the British Government’s Department for International Development (DFID). He is responsible for managing the British Government’s overall policy and global programmes related to achieving the water and sanitation Millennium Development Goals and improving water resources management.

Mr. Wijesekera has extensive experience managing water and sanitation programmes and policy processes as well as work on improving donor coordination and aid effectiveness. He has previously worked for DFID in Ghana as an infrastructure adviser, where he helped coordinate a Joint Assistance Strategy for the donor community and was the lead donor representative for the water sector. Prior to that, he worked in Nigeria, South Africa, Rwanda and Sri Lanka. Mr. Wijesekera is a Chartered civil engineer and worked with UK-based engineering consultancies on a range of projects in the UK and overseas since he graduated in 1991.

Sanitation and Water for All is a global partnership, of 61 governments and agencies, 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.

Source: Sanitation and Water for All, 02 Nov 2010

Picture This: winning photo in MDG 7 category of UNDP competition

Liquid Gold - Children in the Central African Republic pump clean water from underground. Photo: Marielle van Uitert

This photo won the first prize for professional photographers in the MDG Goal 7 (Ensure environmental sustainability) category of UNDP’s Second Annual Picture This photo contest. This year’s competition drew attention to the quickly approaching deadline for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Marielle van Uitert. Photo: EO

Dutch photographer Marielle van Uitert (36) took her prize-winning photo in the Central African Republic in March 2010, on behalf of the Dutch aid organization Cordaid. The children in the photo live near an orphanage there.

“These children were so happy to finally get some clean water,” Marielle says. “They sometimes do competitions to see who can be the first one to fill the bucket with water.”

WaterAid Sweden chair joins UN Secretary General’s MDG Advocacy Group

Jan Eliasson at the opening of World Water Week 2009

The Chair of WaterAid in Sweden, Ambassador Jan Eliasson, has joined a new United Nations MDG Advocacy Group. Mr. Eliasson will have a special focus on Millennium Development Goal 7 on environmental sustainability, which includes water and sanitation.

On 23 June 2010, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced the establishment of an advocacy group of eminent persons to try to galvanize support worldwide towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by their target date of 2015. The MDG Advocacy Group will be co-chaired by Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.

The group is tasked with helping Mr. Ban to build political will and mobilize global action on the eight Goals ahead of the high-level summit on the issue that will take place at United Nations Headquarters in New York in September 2010. Mr. Zapatero will host the first meeting of the MDG Advocacy Group in Madrid in July 2010.

Jan Eliasson is a former Swedish Foreign Minister, former President of the UN General Assembly and former UN Special Envoy to Darfur. At his first news conference as president of the UN General Assembly on 13 June 2005, Mr. Eliasson held up a glass of water and told reporters that clean water was still a luxury for 2 billion people and that during his term he would focus on global problems such as polluted water, hunger, and poverty. In 2008 he became the first chair of WaterAid Sverige (Sweden).

Source: WaterAid, 23 Jun 2010 ; NGLS, 24 Jun 2010

High Level Meeting of Sanitation and Water for All targets finance ministers

The first High Level Meeting of the Sanitation and Water for All global partnership is targeting Ministers of Finance and Ministers of Development Cooperation. They are considered to have the most influence when it comes to securing the investments needed for “Getting on-track for the sanitation and water MDG targets”, the focus for the meeting to be held on 23 April 2010 in Washington, DC, USA.

Sanitation and Water for All is a joint initiative launched by the UK and the Netherlands in September 2008, which now involves 17 other donors, multi-lateral agencies, civil society and other development partners. The initiative allocates £5 million (6 million Euros) over five years to an annual report and high level meeting focused on reviewing progress. A further joint Dutch-UK commitment was made of £85 million (100 million Euros) over the same period to help up to 20 poor countries develop and implement their own national water and sanitation plans.

The 2010 High Level Meeting will take place just before the weekend 2010 World Bank Spring Meetings which are attended by Ministers of Finance and Ministers for Development Cooperation. UNICEF will host the first High Level Meeting.

One of the expected outcomes of the meeting will be a greater understanding of the linkages between water, sanitation and economic growth. To support this outcome, economic case study reports for sanitation and drinking water have been prepared for 19 countries, 14 from Africa and 5 from Asia.

Another expected outcome is the “identification of specific steps countries can take to advance access to, and mobilize resources for, increasing access to safe water and sanitation – particularly countries with greatest needs; including the development of technical assistance tools to provide support for the development and implementation of national water and sanitation plans/strategies”.

More information on the High Level Meeting and on the Sanitation and Water for All initiative’s Global Framework for Action can be found on the web site of UN-Water.

EU to realign development aid towards water

With the UN Millennium Development Goals set to be reviewed this year, the European Commission is stressing the need for an increased focus on access to water, as the achievement of other UN development goals depends on it.

Climate change will alter completely the EU’s aid policy to developing countries in the future, and “water and land use will gain in importance,” said Luis Riera Figueras, director at the European Commission’s development department, addressing the European Parliament’s intergroup on water on 24 February 2010.

As more than 1.2 billion people still lack access to safe drinking water, including more than 40% of Africans, there is “a strong case” for more progress on the matter, he said.

This year’s mid-term review of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) presents an opportunity to integrate a comprehensive water strategy into development strategies across the world, he suggested.

Riera Figueras stressed that more investment in water is necessary as it is a core element of the fight against poverty. Intergroup members agreed that access to water and sanitation is indeed a prerequisite for achieving other MDGs and should be put higher on the agenda, particularly as food security and health goals, for example, directly depend on the availability of water.

Meanwhile, Peter Gammeltoft, the head of the EU executive’s water unit, stressed that a lot more funding than currently available is needed to respond to the challenge. As well as mobilising funds from various sources, “we need to address absorption capacity,” he said, arguing that a number of small water projects that are not linked to any overarching strategy have resulted in the fragmentation of aid.

As part of this year’s mid-term review of the MDGs, the European Commission will adopt a ‘spring package’ on development by the end of April, including the first assessment of the EU’s contribution to the MDGs.

As part of the package, the Commission will publish a communication on agriculture and food security. Riera Figueras said that the communication would address, among other issues, water, land use, and the position of small-scale farmers.

Next Steps

* By end April 2010: Commission to publish ‘spring package’ on development.
* 20-22 Sept. 2010: Millennium Development Goals summit in New York.

Source: EurActiv, 01 Feb 2010