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The World Water Council launched a report this week on ‘Increasing Financial Flows for Sanitation’ during the 8th World Water Forum in Brasilia, Brazil and also Policy Recommendations for Ministers and Local Authorities, encouraging decision makers to be bold and embrace change. The report, prepared over the course of a year assesses the current situation of urban sanitation in eight cities around the world and proposes necessary policy actions to meet the sanitation target of Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG6) by 2030, as well as the financial requirements needed to bring these actions to fruition. People lacking access to improved sanitation is 2.4 billion worldwide, and with increasing trends of urbanization, and extreme weather events due to climate variability, the time to act on urban sanitation is now.

Despite some progress on sanitation since the 2000 Millennium Development Goals, this sector remains severely underfunded and poorly prioritized by governments worldwide. This report analyses sanitation issues across three continents in both the developing and developed world, focusing on Nairobi, Dakar City, Durban and Bogotá, among others, in an effort to demonstrate the effects of underfinancing, poor management and urbanization on sanitation. The World Water Council hopes this report, along with a range of other publications and high-level discussions taking place at the 8th World Water Forum, will provide the necessary impetus to prompt action on this topic.

Jon Lane, Consultant of the task force which produced this report, said during the World Water Forum, “Governments and others will recognize the benefits that sanitation gives to society; we call them societal benefits and economic benefits. Improved sanitation improves people’s health, improves their working productivity, it safeguards the environment, and it cleans up the cities, which will generate more tourism and economic development.”

The key messages for all decision-makers in this newly published report are; to save money by implementing more cost-effective urban sanitation services; increase financial flows by using a range of existing and new financing instruments and mechanisms; and achieve the urban sanitation SDG by 2030 by being positive and resolute.

World Water Council President, Benedito Braga underlines the importance of immediate action in order to achieve the sanitation target of SDG6, stating, “Although concerted efforts have been made to improve access to the most basic forms of sanitation, one third of the world’s population still lacks it. Urban sanitation is costly and requires consistent and substantial finance and an increase in the flow of this finance, since it is often neglected in favour of other priorities.”

Founded by the World Water Council, the 8th World Water Forum is currently being held in the Brazilian capital, Brasilia, 18 - 23 March 2018, under the over-arching theme of “Sharing Water,” in light of water’s role in uniting communities and tearing down barriers. The World Water Council welcomes all to join the world’s biggest water-related event, bringing together heads of state, ministers, high-level decision makers, water experts and professionals, civil society, local authorities and academics. The World Water Forum places water firmly at the heart of global development. It represents a call to action to ensure water’s and our future.

World Water Council launches report on financing sanitation to lead way towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals

The World Water Council launched a report this week on ‘Increasing Financial Flows for Sanitation’ during the 8th World Water Forum...

During the closing ceremony of the 8th World Water Forum in Brasilia, the Japan Water Forum and the World Water Council had the pleasure of awarding the 5th Kyoto World Water Grand Prize to Charité Chrétienne pour Personnes en Détresse (CCPD - Christian Charity for People in Distress), a grassroots organization from Togo.

Presented during the triennial World Water Forum since 2006, and organized by the Japan Water Forum in cooperation with the World Water Council, the Kyoto World Water Grand Prize awards grassroots organizations of developing countries for their outstanding accomplishment in solving water issues, which serves as a model for other grassroots organizations.

CCPD’s winning initiative was presented during the closing ceremony, and their prize of 2,000,000 JPY (approx. $18,000 USD) was awarded for implementing their proposed project, which addresses important water issues.

In the West African nation of Togo, more than half of the population live below the poverty line, and a large number of the population lack reliable access to education, healthcare, electricity, and clean or safe drinking water. Water-related issues are therefore commonplace, and the work of NGOs like Charité Chrétienne pour Personnes en Détresse are vital for helping the most at-risk groups.

Their winning initiative showcases the charity’s work to improve the living conditions of women, children and underprivileged people in rural areas through water, sanitation, hygiene, and education schemes.

The organization, based in Togo, was recognized for the work it has accomplished in empowering individuals and community groups to improve access to safe drinking water and sanitation through construction and refurbishment of drinking water and sanitation facilities, clean-up of sites, and raising awareness through educational campaigns and workshops. These efforts have contributed to a noticeable decrease in water and sanitation related diseases and deaths in the community of Togo. From 2013 to 2016, CCPD received donations from the Japan Water Forum (JWF) Fund, which provides small grants to grassroots organizations.

The 8th World Water Forum brought together heads of state, ministers, high-level decision makers, water experts and professionals, local authorities, academics and civil societies to what has become the world’s biggest water-related event. Held in the Southern atmosphere for the first time, the Government of Brazil hosted the event in its capital, Brasilia, between the 18th and 23rd of March 2018.

The World Water Forum is designed to maximize interaction at all levels, from grassroots to heads of state, to work for better management of our most vital resource, water. It also provides a platform to recognize valuable advancements on the ground, such as those undertaken by CCPD, which contribute to a more water-secure world.

World Water Council President Benedito Braga underlined the importance of grassroots charities, such as CCPD, in working towards water security, stating, “There is an absolute necessity to increase water security, ensuring enough good quality water to sustain multiple needs. Taking care of our water resources is the shared responsibility of everyone on the planet”.