© Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan
After 5 years of near silence on the issue, the G8 encouragingly discussed water and sanitation (watsan) in Japan this year, the content however was shamefully weak.
2.5 billion without a toilet, 850 million without clean water this is a global crisis but instead of agreeing an action plan to tackle an issue that kills more children than any other single factor the G8 agreed to report on progress in a year’s time. In that year up to 2.4 million children could die from the diseases spread by poor sanitation.
It’s been a long time since the G8 Evian Water Action Plan (click here to learn more) was agreed in 2003, and despite the lack of action the very fact that watsan was being discussed gives hope for the future. This month a high-level UN meeting will discuss the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in New York, it is critical that both water and sanitation are prioritised.
This has to be the start – the start of an extraordinary effort to ensure life and dignity for the world’s people. They cannot wait forever and if world leaders are serious about challenging global poverty we need to see this issue prioritised in September and beyond.
Click here to start taking action to prioritise this issue.