5000 children die every day from drinking dirty water.

Small steps forward at UN, huge leap needed

Campaign success as UK and Netherlands launch global framework for action, but much more needed to make serious impact on sanitation and water crisis

Dutch Prime Minister Jan Balkenende and
Development Minister Bert Koenders receive
the End WaterPoverty petition from Rolien
Sasse, Director of Simavi. (Credit: Simavi)

26th September 2008

At the UN High-Level Meeting on the Millennium Development Goals, important steps were taken towards improving the global effort to end the global sanitation and water crisis. Most governments, however, still failed to take the actions needed to fully deliver for 40% of the world's population who still lack access to a safe toilet.

Positive moves were made by the Governments of the UK and Netherlands, who together launched a 'global framework for action' that mirrors a number of the recommendations put forward by End Water Poverty. The framework includes an initial investment of €106m to support the development and implementation of national plans to meet the MDG targets in 20 countries. Further, the framework will see the establishment of an annual high-level meeting to monitor and drive progress in the sector, and a promise to consider the merits of a 'fast-track' fund targeted at improving capacity at country level.

The announcement followed a presentation by End Water Poverty to the Dutch Prime Minister, Jan Balkenende, of the 960,037 actions taken so far in support of the campaign.

The UK-Dutch initiative was a welcome step forward, and a success for the End Water Poverty campaign, yet it is clear that much more needs to be done for this to have any significant impact. More money is certainly needed to bridge a huge funding gap, and critically many more Governments must come on board to back this plan. These will both be important things for the End Water Poverty to campaign on in the future.

Less positively, the initiative was not well matched by other Governments, with no tangible new commitments made elsewhere, and no detail given as to how existing commitments would be kept.

European leaders did not, for example, outline how they would deliver the extra €2 billion promised for water and sanitation in Africa by 2010, as part of the EU Agenda for Action agreed this June. And African leaders did not spell out how they would be acting to meet their African Union commitments to deliver national plans, although they did reiterate their commitment to do so. In many of the discussions the sanitation and water crisis remained sidelined, despite its central role in driving progress in reducing poverty and child mortality, and improving school enrolment and gender equality.

For a full report of the UN Meeting, and End Water Poverty's activities throughout the week, read the End Water Poverty blog

Read the End Water Poverty press release on 25th September 

Read the End Water Poverty press release on 24th September

Visit the official website for the UN High-Level Event