Negotiators at UN prioritise water, sanitation and hygiene

Government negotiators at the United Nations agree to put universal access to water, sanitation and hygiene at the heart of the new Sustainable Development Goals aimed to eradicate extreme global poverty by 2030.
 
Heads of State and Governments urged to bring ambitious commitments to September’s endorsement summit.
 
WaterAid welcomes the conclusion of negotiations on the new global Sustainable Development Goals in the UN last night. This agreement will now go for endorsement by Heads of State and Governments at a crucial summit in New York this September. Once endorsed, this will be the first agreement by all UN member states on ambitious targets to achieve universal access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH).
 
The plan is expected to bring new energy to tackling extreme poverty, including the crisis of access to water and sanitation. One in ten people globally live without access to basic water and one in three go without access to basic sanitation. Sanitation is one of the most off-track of the existing Millennium Development Goal targets.  
 
Whilst welcoming the document and the new focus on water and sanitation, WaterAid notes with concern the section on “Follow up and Review”. The document has limited clarity on how and when member states will report and monitor the agreed goals and targets at a national level. It is currently unclear when many countries will start their national implementation of the plan.

Speaking after the release of the document, Barbara Frost, WaterAid Chief Executive said:

“For people living in poverty, water to drink, decent toilets and facilities to wash their hands are essential for their future. Without these basics, women are left to fetch contaminated water and see their children suffer from water related illnesses - or from the indignity of having nowhere safe to go the toilet. Access to water, sanitation and hygiene can make all the difference to living a healthy and prosperous life.

“WaterAid and many others have been calling for a globally agreed Sustainable Development Goal dedicated to water and sanitation since 2012. Today UN negotiators have taken a significant step closer to achieving this, signalling a commitment to transform the lives of the one in ten people without safe water to drink and the one in three without basic sanitation.
     
“We welcome the agreement, the work of member state negotiators to get here and most significantly, the overarching commitment to end extreme poverty through sustainable development by 2030.

“In less than two months, Heads of State and Governments attend the September summit in New York and should give their final endorsement to this plan. We call on them to bring clear and implementable national commitments that show how they will make the ambition of the Sustainable Development Goals a reality. Only by doing this can we end water, sanitation and hygiene poverty and ensure no one is left behind.”