People Demand Water, Sanitation Justice

OVER 350,000 people have called for leaders at the United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC-IV) in Istanbul to urgently tackle the world water and sanitation crisis, with campaigners warning that if they failed to do so, the fight against poverty in the world's poorest countries would be lost.

A staggering 500 million people living in the world's least developed countries (LDCs) have no access to sanitation, while over 300 million are without clean drinking water, resulting in child death, less school attendance and over-burdened health systems.

Furthermore, the provision of sanitation and water provides a strong platform for job creation and economic development and is central to the achievement of all Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The Least Developed Countries (LDC) Conference in Istanbul, Turkey started on May 9 and will end tomorrow, May 13, 2011.

The draft Istanbul Programme for Action made a commitment to aim for sanitation and water for all in LCDs by 2020, but this is in danger of being watered down having no particular target and instead aiming for a 'significant reduction' in numbers of people who do not have clean drinking water or basic sanitation.

Campaigners are calling on leaders to show real commitment to poverty reduction by making the provision of water and sanitation a big priority, not just a weak and forgettable statement.

'Leaders are meeting this week to help the Least Developed Countries - the world's poorest nations - to develop and work their way out of poverty. If they are truly serious in doing so, leaders must ensure that access to water and sanitation is a priority,' said End Water Poverty International Coordinator Fleur Anderson.

'Without these basic necessities, hundreds of thousands of lives are lost, girls don't attend school and economies are crippled. To put it simply, without water and sanitation, the fight against poverty will not be won.'

In the lead up to the conference, the 350,000 campaigners took to the streets in over 80 countries across the globe, as part of global campaigning group, End Water Poverty's The World Walks for Water event. Marches took place in many of the LDCs including Nepal, Timor Leste, Bangladesh, Uganda and Malawi.

'Leaders must listen to the hundreds of thousands of people demanding access to water and sanitation,' said Dr. Afia Zakiya from WaterAid in Ghana.

This week is a critical opportunity to take action on this crisis that has such a huge impact on the world's poorest people, given that approximately 50% of all hospital beds in the developing world are occupied with patients suffering from diseases related to lack of access to safe, affordable water and sanitation services, straining resources from already fragile health systems.

Reports from Ministry of Health (2009) indicate that poor sanitation contributes to at least 70% of OPD attendance and 25% of under-five mortality as well as malaria which accounts for 22% of mortality in children.

The challenge is that none of the MDGs would be achieved if the WASH sector is not given the necessary attention, because WASH is central to education, women empowerment, health, and poverty reduction.

Experts believe investing in water and sanitation would however provide a huge return on investment as for every $1 invested in water and sanitation, $8 is returned in economic returns through increased productivity and prevents up to 1.4 million child deaths every year.

According to the UNDP, it would also ensure more girls go to school, giving back millions of school days lost each year due to water-related diseases and in the view of the World Health Organization, free up over-burdened health resources.

End Water Poverty is participating in the conference where they will launch a manifesto to leaders and hold a World Walks for Water event at which they expect high profile participants.