Water and sanitation are at the very centre of development. They are integral to health, nutrition, education, livelihoods, the role of women, and the environment. Without adequate management of water resources and access to water and sanitation, poverty reduction will not be sustainable. Water links people to the planet and thus is vital to sustainable development. Lack of access to water and sanitation primarily affects the poorest of the poor, especially women who normally bear the burden of collecting water and caring for the sick.
Currently, 2.6 billion people do not have access to basic sanitation and 1.1 billion people lack safe water. In 2000, United Nations member states committed themselves to meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the year 2015. One of these goals involves halving the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation. Although some countries may meet the water provision target, Sub-Saharan Africa is unlikely to, with 42% of the population still without access to safe water. Many more countries are further behind on increasing access to sanitation.
Many Tearfund partners, and its own Disaster Management Teams, are involved in providing essential water, sanitation and hygiene services to poor communities around the world. However, there is no way that non-governmental organisations like Tearfund and our partners can meet the MDG target on their own. National governments and international donors also have a vital role to play in ensuring that poor people have access to safe water and to sanitation. Some Tearfund partners are active in speaking out for the rights of poor people to have access to water and sanitation, and holding their governments to account for providing adequate services. They are supported by Tearfund’s Public Policy Team, which has been calling on rich governments to increase the amount of aid that they give to the water sector and to ensure that more of this aid reaches poor communities. For more information about this international advocacy work, and for ideas on how to advocate for access to water and sanitation services locally, nationally and regionally please click here.