PHA-Exchange> Development: Need for global action plan to tackle water and sanitation crisis

[claudio at hcmc.netnam.vn]

 from Third World Network <twnet at po.jaring.my> -----

Unlike wars and natural disasters, the global water and sanitation crisis does 
not galvanise international action. This was one of the key messages in the 
UNDP's report 'Human Development Report 2006: Beyond scarcity - Power, poverty 
and the global water crisis'.


Development: Need for global action plan to tackle water and sanitation crisis 

By Kanaga Raja, Geneva, 9 November 2006


A Global Plan of Action under G8 leadership is urgently needed to resolve a 
growing water and sanitation crisis that causes nearly two million child 
deaths every year, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said 
Thursday.

This was one of the main messages highlighted in the UNDP's ''Human 
Development Report 2006: Beyond scarcity - Power, poverty and the global water 
crisis''. Across much of the developing world, HDR-2006 said, unclean water is 
an immeasurably greater threat to human security than violent conflict.

According to the report, each year, 1.8 million children die from diarrhoea 
that could be prevented with access to clean water and a toilet; 443 million 
school days are lost to water-related illnesses; and almost 50% of all people 
in developing countries are suffering at any given time from a health problem 
caused by a lack of water and sanitation.

To add to these human costs, the crisis in water and sanitation holds back 
economic growth, with sub-Saharan Africa losing five percent of GDP annually 
or some $28.4 billion - far more than the region receives in aid.

Another key message in the report is that the gap between the richest and 
poorest countries in the world is growing, as human development in Sub-Saharan 
Africa stagnates and progress in other regions accelerates.

The report says that unlike wars and natural disasters, the global water and 
sanitation crisis does not galvanize concerted international action. Like 
hunger, it is a silent emergency experienced by the poor and tolerated by 
those with the resources, the technology and the political power to end it. 
With less than a decade left to reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 
by 2015, this needs to change, the report stresses.

When it comes to water and sanitation, the world suffers from a surplus of 
conference activity and a deficit of credible action. 
In addition to creating a Global Action Plan, the report recommends that the 
following three foundations are crucial for success:

(1) Make water a human right: The report advocates for all governments to go 
beyond vague constitutional principles in enabling legislation to ensure the 
human right to a secure, accessible and affordable supply of water. At a 
minimum, this implies a target of at least 20 litres of clean water a day for 
every citizen - and at no cost for those too poor to pay. While a person in 
the UK or US sends 50 litres down the drain each day by simply flushing their 
toilet, many poor people survive on less than five litres of contaminated 
water per day.

(2) Draw up national strategies for water and sanitation: The report urges all 
governments to prepare national plans for accelerating progress in water and 
sanitation, with ambitious targets backed with financing to the tune of at 
least one percent of GDP, and clear strategies for overcoming inequalities. 
Water and sanitation suffer from chronic under-funding - public spending is 
typically less than 0.5% of GDP. This figure is dwarfed by military spending - 
in Ethiopia, for example, the military budget is 10 times the water and 
sanitation budget, while in Pakistan, it is 47 times.

The report also says that national poverty reduction agendas reflect the 
pervasive benign neglect of water and sanitation. The sector seldom figures 
with any prominence in Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs)- the 
documents that set out national plans and define the terms of cooperation 
between donors and aid recipients. All PRSPs should include goals and 
strategies for narrowing extreme disparities in water and sanitation 
provision, with a special focus on inequalities based on wealth, location and 
gender.

(3) Increased international aid: The report calls for an extra $3.4 billion to 
$4 billion annually to have any chance of reaching the MDG on water and 
sanitation. It states that progress in water and sanitation requires large 
upfront investments with a very long payback period, so innovative financing 
strategies like the International Finance Facility are essential. This would 
be money well-spent, says the report, which estimates the economic return in 
saved time, increased productivity and reduced health costs at $8 for each $1 
invested in achieving the water and sanitation target.

The UNDP estimates the total additional cost of achieving the MDG on access to 
water and sanitation - to be sourced domestically and internationally - at 
about $10 billion a year. 
The human development gains would be immense. Closing the gap between current 
trends and the MDG target on water and sanitation would save more than one 
million children's lives over the next decade and bring total economic 
benefits of about $38 billion annually. The benefits for Sub-Saharan Africa - 
about $15 billion - would represent 60% of its 2003 aid flows.



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