The international effort on sanitation and water is in disarray. Make your voice heard.

MDG+10 Summit

In September 2010, the most important meeting on development for years happened in New York.

Ban Ki Moon convened the MDG+10 Summit in New York

September 2010 saw global leaders, civil society groups and the world’s media gather in New York for the UN High-Level Plenary on the MDGs, otherwise known as the MDG+10 Summit.

Ten years on from when the MDGs were set and with only five years to go until the target date of 2015, and with many of the goals dramatically behind schedule, the summit represented a crucial moment to ensure that water and sanitation were recognised as crucial in the fight against global poverty.

What we did

In the lead up to the summit, we worked alongside our members to ensure that our joint messages were communicated to national leaders, this was seen as the priority issue and the main focus of our efforts around the Summit;

• Produced and circulated a policy briefing, Breaking Barriers, which outlines our key recommendations for world leaders along with three other global organisations,

• Produced an Advocacy Guide for members.

• Developed a template letter  for members to use in their lobbing

• Wrote a letter to Ban Ki-Moon from the membership and partners urging new approach to the MDGs.

• Coordinated Poverty Hearings across Africa to empower voices of those affected

At the summit

With most of the work done ahead of the Summit supporting national level advocacy, we also went to New York to meet with campaigners from across the globe. We were also able to take part in a number of events during the summit itself.

• Took part in the UN Week Digital Media Lounge, alongside speakers from Malawi, Senegal and Sierra Leone.

• Took part in the UN Millennium campaign's global event Stand Up Against Poverty, and a one day meeting of GCAP campaigners to strategise over future plans and joint work.

• Blogged throughout the Summit to keep our membership informed and engaged.

• Was caught as a ‘poo on the loose’ on the streets of New York.

• Produced press releases 

Outcomes

Overall there were some really positive messages to come out of the summit, with water and sanitation issues being given a higher profile than ever before.

Yet there is still a lot of work to do to effect real change.

We’ve seen initiative such as the ‘Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health’ announced with impressive sounding figures attached, ($40b) but what is the reality? It’s crucial to ensure that the figures that are being announced are not just repackaged existing commitments.

Lessons learnt

One clear lesson we can take away from the summit is with strategic joint action we can achieve real results, ensuring that our messages about water and sanitation are given prominence.

But we need to move beyond gratitude of recognition of water and sanitation as an issue on the agenda to getting commitment for real action. As civil society, we need to do better in getting an Outcome Document from the Summit to be action orientated as it is meant to be, and not just well-meaning words.

If you have any questions, queries or suggestions for future actions, please get in touch here: serenaosullivan@endwaterpoverty.org 

Also, do take a look at the official Summit website (opens in a new window)

Please note: This campaign action was primarily directed to organisations. If you're an individual looking to support our campaign, please take a look at our member list and find an organisation near you to support. And please do promote our actions through Facebook and Twitter - it really does make a huge difference.