tumblr: water

From the ONE Campaign:

The Millenium Development Goal on water and sanitation is to reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation, which would mean reaching 75% of the global population with water and 63% of the global population with basic sanitation. Reaching these goals would require a better governance framework that could equitably and efficiently distribute water, prepare for water disasters and the impacts of climate change, and increase capacity and balance the needs of agricultural, industrial and household water users.

Progress towards increasing access to clean water and adequate sanitation has been positive, but slow and uneven across regions, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. While many countries around the world are on track to meet the water and sanitation MDG targets, most African countries remain off track. In sub-Saharan Africa, the proportion of people with access to an improved water source increased from 55% to 60% between 2000 and 2008 (the most recent years for which data exist), still short of the goal of reaching 75% of people with access. Access to improved sanitation in the region reached only 31% in 2008, or less than half that needed to achieve the MDG target coverage of 63%.

The G8 still lack a clear roadmap for achieving success on water and sanitation and their commitments lack measurable targets. The G8 should work to finance strong national plans and should provide technical assistance for the development of national plans where they do not exist. In addition, donors should make a new commitment to the sector with clear targets and timelines. Special focus should be placed on support for sub-Saharan Africa.

My take away message from this is: we can wait around for the G8 to fail to fund and implement drinking water projects, or we can make it happen ourselves.