Prioritise slum dwellers for water and sanitation investment, says WaterAid manifesto

Published on: 28/10/2011

Investment in water and sanitation in the rapidly urbanising cities of the developing world is key if we are to avoid uncontrollable poverty and ever worsening slums, says WaterAid in a manifesto [1] released on 3 October 2011. Long-term, reliable funding into urban water and sanitation infrastructure has a powerful impact on economic productivity, said the manifesto’s author Timeyin Uwejamomere.

Cities in the developing world are expected to double in population size every 15 years, with the vast majority of residents ending up living in unplanned slums, with little or no access to basic services like water, sanitation and electricity. Diarrhoeal diseases caused by a lack of safe water and sanitation are the biggest killers of children under 5 in Africa, and the second biggest killer in South Asia.

In the manifesto WaterAid has formulated three main objectives to refocus on urban WASH needs:

• Champion the cause of poor urban communities by developing city-wide plans for urban basic services and prioritising poor urban communities within urban WASH investments;
• Increase understanding and awareness of the needs of poor urban communities through improved data collection and targeted investments
• Commit to long-term action by providing a global strategic leadership for urban issues and agreeing an ambitious post-MDG target for improving the lives of urban slum-dwellers

[1]: Uwejamomere, T. (2001). Sanitation and water for poor urban communities : a manifesto. London, UK, WaterAid. 14 p. Download full document

Source: WaterAid, 03 Oct 2011