Sanitation and Water for All: Progress and challenges

Tom Slaymaker

WaterAid UK

Outline

• Why do we need SWA-GFA?• How will SWA-GFA work?• Work in progress• Challenges• Next steps

http://www.unwater.org/activities_san4all.html

One in eight people without safe water

A global issue needs a global solution

Water - Cited as the highest priority of the poor

Poor Sanitation – one of the biggest killers of children

Sub-Saharan Africa is most off-track based on current MDG progress:- Water not until 2035- Sanitation not until 2108

In Sub-Saharan Africa, only the maternal mortality MDG is more off-track than sanitation

• Health and Nutrition

• 88% of diarrhoeal deaths from poor WASH – WASH could prevent 1.4 million diarrhoea deaths every year

• fewer diarrhoea episodes & less worm infestation improves nutritional status

• hand-washing with soap can halve incidence of Acute Respiratory Infections

• Education• improving WASH in schools has an impact on

enrolment levels, particularly for girls

• Poverty• 5.5 billion productive days per year lost due to

diarrhoea and burden of fetching water household water required for small-scale productive activities

• Gender• Women & girls bear the brunt of fetching water &

benefit most when distances are reduced

Poor access to WASH is holding back progress on health and education and economic development

Defining the problem in the WASH sector

SWA provides a structured partnership mechanism linking global and national efforts

to accelerate progress on WASH

PrinciplesOperationalise principles of Aid

Effectiveness in the sector• Country ownership• Harmonisation• Alignment• Predictability and untying• Results focus• Mutual accountability

(Paris Declaration & Accra Agenda for Action)

Structure

Global

• Annual High Level Meeting (GLAAS)

• Global Compact

Country Level Processes

• Sector diagnostics

• Development/strengthening of national plans

•Improved sector performance

Focus on improved aid targetingAll WASH aid, average over 2006-8

low income countries

32%

other countries

68%

2002 - 2006

Focus on developing and strengthening national plans

Accelerate progress

towards the water and

sanitation MDGs

Work in progress• End Water Poverty Campaign since 2007• SWA-GFA initiative developed and championed

by UK and Dutch governments since 2008• Temporary Governance Structure est. 2009

(interim core group plus small secretariat)• Technical Working Groups (concept

development and consensus building):- Aid Effectiveness and Financing Modalities- Country Processes- Political Communications and Strategy- Governance

• Regional and country level consultations…

Challenges

• Complex political process (global, regional, national) involving govts, donors & NGOs

• One step forwards, two steps backwards – generating consensus and building coalitions

• Engaging developing country governments and regional bodies (e.g. AMCOW) in global discourse

• Critical mass of donors (UK, Netherlands, Germany, EC, UNICEF, UNDP, World Bank, AfDB, ADB, US, Japan)

First ever High Level Meeting scheduled for 23 April in Washington (hosted by UNICEF)

• The High Level Meeting aims to result in commitments to:– Increase political and financial prioritisation– Increase and improve targeting of aid– Improve donor harmonisation/alignment– Supporting or strengthening and resourcing

actionable national plans

• 23 April 2010, Washington DC• 20 “pilot” developing country Ministers of Finance• 8-10 donor Ministers of Development Cooperation

Next steps…