“Act now to end the sanitation and water crisis in the Least Developed Countries”

Published on: 21/04/2011

“Act now to end the sanitation and water crisis in the Least Developed  Countries”. With this message the End Water Poverty campaign coalition is asking its members to lobby for this with their national governments that go to the Fourth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC-IV) in Istanbul from 9 to 13 May May 2011.

They coalition is offering a civil society manifesto PDF file with recommendations for the Istanbul Programme for Action document, which will be adopted at the conference. The draft document sets the ambitious target of ensuring all LDCs get access to water and sanitation by 2020, but the coalition feels that clear steps outlining how this target will be realised must be set out in the Istanbul document to ensure accountability and a real chance of success.

Tangible actions that should be highlighted are:

• Strengthening national water and sanitation plans by integrating them with health, education and urban planning
• Investment in low income countries and marginalized groups
• Support of the Sanitation and Water for All partnership
• Championing the cause of the urban poor to satisfy the growing needs of all in towns and cities.

Source: Fleur Anderson, International Campaign Coordinator, End Water Poverty, 12 Apr 2011