G8 blog from Japan
End Water Poverty campaign coordinator Steve Cockburn's daily blog, live from the G8 meeting in Japan.
Credit: WaterAid
Konichiwa!
Welcome to my End Water Poverty G8 blog, coming straight at you from rain-soaked Hokkaido, where I will be reporting back on the global circus that is the G8 summit.
As seven men and one woman luxuriate by Lake Toyako, putting the world to rights, deciding the fate of billions of people across the world, this intrepid but bleary-eyed correspondent will endeavour to keep you informed and updated.
And yes, that is a toilet roll on my head. No-one said this job was glamorous!
You can also read this blog, and leave your comments, on the Blogspot version here.
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Day 3 at the G8
1540 GMT It ain't over 'til it's over
Most toilets flush in the key of E Flat. Allegedly. I don't know who worked that out. Slow day at the office? And obviously that might not apply in Japan, where (as mentioned already) toilets come with a full orchestral background.
So what's the final verdict? And what's next?
As always with the G8 it's a mixed bag: a bemusing combination of warm words, cold hearts, closed wallets and promised lands. Not everything you want but still just enough to hold out hope that serious progress is just around the corner, just as long as we can pin them down once and for all... maybe its like nailing jelly to the wall - it will cause a mess, people will be annoyed, it won't work out as you hoped, but something will stick.
Anyway, enough of the rubbish metaphors. Of course, we didn't get everything we wanted - no global action plan, no new money, no end to the crisis in sight just yet.
But does that mean the effort wasn't worth it, and does that mean we should all give up? Of course not. This last week we have seen some genuine progress, even if it's quite clearly not enough. Sanitation and water has been discussed at the top-table for the first time in years and the commitments could - maybe, if we follow it up right - be the start of a process that puts sanitation and water at the centre of efforts to boost health and combat poverty.
While we don't have a solution to the sanitation crisis this week, we do have a better platform from which to go forward - more commitments, greater recognition, more allies and the promise of a process that starts now, stops off at the UN in September, reports at the G8 in Italy next year, and continues onwards.
We have also built critical momentum. Leaders across Africa and Asia have promised to step up efforts to tackle the sanitation crisis and G8 leaders now have too. There is a growing public movement backing this up - 940,000 of you taking action in support of the campaign so far. There is no doubt that this made a difference, no doubt it has to continue.
And media too - reports in the BBC, Financial Times, Guardian, Independent, Lancet (PDF), Ghanaian Times, and many more show the silence on sanitation is finally being broken. (links open in a new window)
And what's next? More work, more campaigning, more toilet puns. Obviously. This G8 has not been flushed with success, we're still waiting for them to spend a penny (or more), but there is no doubt that we're on a (toilet) roll...
Looking forward we have a couple of key moments ahead, not least at the UN in September. This will be when all the world's leaders - not just those privileged enough to eat caviar and sea-urchin in Japan - will gather to agree measures to try and save the Millennium Development Goals.
This is crucial, and getting a focus on sanitation here could be the next small victory on the way to one day ending the sanitation crisis.
It shouldn't be this hard for everyone to have access to a safe toilet, shouldn't be so difficult to prevent over 2 million kids dying each year from such preventable causes, but for some reason it is. And it's our job to convince them.
1400 GMT Kimono folding extravaganza as major economies leave 1.7bn people behind
I know you've all been sitting on your toilet seats waiting for this next update. The average person spends three years of their life going to the loo, so don't feel too bad. Just wash your hands, please.
What happened on day three? The G8 invited some more pals along - leaders of the eight 'major economies'* joined messrs. Bush et al to discuss climate change and the world economy. Astonishingly, these eight countries represent countries where over two-thirds of the world's population who lack safe sanitation live - over 1.7bn people. A reminder both that poor sanitation is not just an African issue and that economic growth and a burgeoning middle class does not necessarily equate to social improvements for all.
Day three was again dominated by the world economy, Zimbabwe and climate change - very much the leading stories of the summit alongside the food crisis.
And for light entertainment (and a poor advert for gender equality), were the G8 wives (and husband) learning to fold kimonos (opens in a new window) while their husbands (and wife) sort the world out. Sort of.
*Australia, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa, South Korea
Download today's official End Water Poverty press release
Day 2 at the G8
8 July 1200 GMT, Hokkaido, Japan
And here it is, the G8 statement on Africa and Development (opens in news window). The collective wisdom and energy of the seven most powerful men - and the world’s most powerful woman - on the continent’s development.
And what does it say?
Not a lot. Certainly not enough to satisfy the hundreds of thousands of campaigners who demanded a global action plan to provide sanitation and water for all. And certainly not enough for the 2.6 billion people around the world who have no safe place to go to the toilet.
To be fair, there are some positives – sanitation and water have been discussed at the top table for the first time in five years. They recognised it as central to improving health and development, acknowledged the need to accelerate efforts to meet the millennium development goals and started a process which will be reviewed at next year’s G8.
But really, lets not get too excited. Imagine if you were one of the world’s most powerful people (maybe you are - if so, call me). Imagine you were discussing ways to stop kids dying with your seven extremely powerful pals. Imagine you knew that poor sanitation probably kills more children every year than any other cause. What would you do?
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Issue a statement that provides almost no concrete commitments – and no money – to deliver more taps and toilets to the world’s poor?
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Set up a working group to report in one year (by which time 2.4 million children will have died from poor sanitation), based on implementing a failed plan agreed five years ago?
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Actively veto suggestions made by your powerful friends that might actually improve the health of 40% of world’s population?
If last night you ate a meal with 18-24 dishes (depending on which paper you read) then you might well have done all of the above.
In many ways we’ve moved forward since the 2007 G8, when neither water nor sanitation got a look in. We have a platform to go forward to the UN meeting in September. But is this pace of change, this level of ambiguity, this lack of money really acceptable to someone living in a slum next an open sewer, sharing one unsanitary toilet with hundreds of other people?
Messrs Brown, Burlosconi, Bush, Fukuda, Harper, Merkel, Medvedev and Sarkozy: what do you think?
And whilst we’re at it, leaders of Africa: is this what you were looking for?
For our official response, read the End Water Poverty press release .
Read the G8 communique on Africa and development (opens in new window)
More toilet trivia while we're waiting...
8 July 0844 GMT, Hokkaido, Japan
Did you know that the typical Japanese toilet comes complete with musical background, seat warmer and automatic deodoriser? It's true, and you can pay over $5,000 for a top of the range one. And currently under development is a one that takes samples from your urine to test blood sugar levels, calculate your body-mass index and then automatically emails your doctor through fibre optic broadband. Seriously.
And at the same time over 40% of the world's population have no access to any toilet at all, putting them at huge risk of sickness and disease and killing up to 2.4 million children every year.
Doesn't sound quite right does it?
8 July 0630 GMT, Hokkaido, Japan
Before the whole G8 business, ponder this: one month ago NASA spent $450m launching a space mission in order to fix broken toilet on the International Space Station. It spends less than four times this amount on sanitation in sub-Saharan Africa...
Back on earth, at the G8 summit, coverage of yesterday's outreach with African countries focused largely on Zimbabwe, although water and sanitation was raised alongside the food crisis as priority areas by the African leaders. Other hot topics around the summit appear to be the food crisis, oil prices, the state of the world economy, climate change and fears of backtracking on previous aid and HIV commitments.
(As I write this the documents on the world economy have been released.)
As we get closer to the main announcement on Africa - probably happening late this afternoon (Japan time) - it has become increasingly clear how negotiations have watered down proposals on tackling the water and sanitation crisis. Comparing leaked drafts of the G8 communiqué dated before and after a key negotiation meeting shows how proposals to establish an annual review and meeting to drive global progress were vetoed.
We'll have to see what comes out in the end but brace yourselves for ambiguity. On the one hand there will be positive recognition of the issue's importance and some hope for future processes. But on the other, don't expect a detailed action plan to end the crisis once and for all - or access to the G8 bank account - just yet... I'm more likely to be flying to the moon to fix a toilet.
Download the End Water Poverty response to Japanese Foreign Minister
Day one
7 July 0600 GMT, Hokkaido, Japan
The G8 officially kicks off today, with its day of 'African outreach' - whereby heads of eight African states are invited to join the party. Whilst there will be a drip feed of news and rumour, the bigger statements on Africa, climate change and the world economy are expected on Tuesday and Wednesday.
So as the jamboree starts, what do we expect to happen? A lot of words and back-slapping for sure. But concrete action to deliver for the 40% of the world's population who have no access to safe sanitation? Hmmm, not if current rumours and intelligence are anything to go by...
Newly leaked drafts of the G8 communique show how commitments have been watered down in negotiations, with few commitments and even fewer measurable actions.
So clearly there is quite a fight ahead at this summit and beyond to get agreement on a genuinely ambitious global plan of action on sanitation and water, but at least now we have made it to the battlefield...
In other news, WaterAid launched an important new report today, detailing evidence showing that poor sanitation may be the biggest killer children in the world today. Accounting for a quarter of all child deaths, the lack of a safe place to go the toiled could be killing 2.4 million children every year.
So a question for Frau Merkel, Monsieur Sarkozy and friends - which of you are blocking measures to stop this public health scandal and what are you thinking?
Download a press release about the leaked communiqué