4000 children die every day from diarrhoea caused by unclean water and poor sanitation.

Human chain to demand action

Campaigners in Bangladesh join forces to raise awareness

People demanding change together

13 August 2009

In a display of collaborative activism, campaigners in Dhaka, Bangladesh staged a stunt to apply pressure on the Italian Ambassador in the run up to the G8 Summit in L’Aquila last month.

On the afternoon of 7th July, members of End Water Poverty, representatives from the water and sanitation sector, community residents – including slum dwellers – and other members of civil society came together in a colourful and strategised event at the Dhaka Press Club.

Campaigners held banners and speeches were made by representatives from WaterAid Bangladesh, the Coalition for the Urban Poor, the Village Education Resource Centre and community members. As well as mobilising activists, it was also used as an activity to raise awareness amongst the general people on the End Water Poverty campaign and the tragic water and sanitation situation prevailing in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

The event achieved media coverage through five television pieces, eight national newspaper articles and a radio interview. The campaigners also persevered in trying to secure an appointment with the Italian Ambassador, to no avail on the day, but she will meet an End Water Poverty delegation during August.