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November 21: United Nations
launches International
Year of Sanitation 2008
MEDIA ADVISORY
News - National/International
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
UN to Launch "International Year of Sanitation 2008" on Nov. 21st in New York
Year aims to mobilize international community to take action and end
global sanitation crisis
In an effort to highlight the critical role that sanitation plays in the
fight against global poverty, the United Nations will officially launch
the "International Year of Sanitation 2008" on November 21, 2007 at UN
Headquarters in New York at 11:00 am EST.
At the launch event, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is expected to call
for increased global support to combat one of the most lethal and least
reported humanitarian crises on the planet - the global sanitation crisis.
Around the world, 2.6 billion people - 42 per cent of the global
population - lack access to basic sanitation like toilets or safe
latrines. Each year, some two million people die from diseases caused by
poor sanitation and dirty water; 90 per cent of these preventable deaths
occur in children under the age of five.
Sanitation & Water Action Network (SWAN) Canada, a newly-formed coalition
of Canadian non-governmental organizations, has applauded the UN's
decision to put the spotlight on sanitation. In an open letter to Prime
Minister Stephen Harper released earlier this week, SWAN Canada called on
the Canadian government to make sanitation a foreign aid priority.
"The fight against global poverty is inextricably linked to sanitation,"
said George Yap, coordinator for SWAN Canada. "Children cannot go to
school if they are suffering from diarrhoeal diseases; parents cannot
support their families if they are too sick to work; women cannot fully
contribute to society if their days are spent walking for miles in search
of safe water. If you want to address poverty, it starts with
sanitation."
In 2000, Canada and other members of the international community committed
to achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals, one of which was to
halve the number of people without access to sanitation by 2015. At
current rates of progress, the 2015 sanitation target will be missed by
more than half a billion people.
Currently, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) devotes
two per cent of its annual disbursements (approx. $70 million) to
sanitation and water-related projects.
The UN estimates that with sustained funding from the international
community, basic sanitation for the entire world could be achieved within
one to two decades. In relative terms, the cost of such investment
(approx. $10 billion globally per year) is less than one per cent of
annual world military spending, or about one-third of yearly spending on
bottled water.
For more information on the official launch of the UN International Year
of Sanitation 2008, please visit <http://esa.un.org/iys/iys_launch.shtml>.
-END-
Sanitation & Water Action Network (SWAN) Canada is a newly-formed and
growing coalition of Canadian non-governmental organizations united in the
belief that water and sanitation initiatives must be a foreign aid
priority for Canada. Through SWAN Canada, like-minded groups are able to
come together with one voice to engage citizens and governments on the
critical importance of water and sanitation in the fight against global
poverty. To learn more, visit www.swancanada.org.
SWAN Canada members:
- CARE Canada
- Canadian Physicians for Aid & Relief
- Harbinger Foundation
- Oxfam Canada
- Results Canada
- Ryan's Well Foundation
- WaterCan
- Water for People Canada
- Water & Sanitation Rotarian Action Group
Read SWAN Canada's Open Letter to the PM - On November 19, 2007, SWAN
Canada released an open letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, calling
for increased foreign aid for water and sanitation initiatives in the
developing world. To read the letter, visit:
Photos
Image 1: What is essentially an open sewer in Nairobi, Kenya, floods into
surrounding streets and homes during heavy rains.
Image 2: An informal settlement in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Image 3: School children in informal settlements in Kampala, Uganda wander
near an open sewer.
Image 4: School children in Kampala, Uganda line up to wash their hands;
hand-washing can reduce the spread of diarrhoeal disease by 45 per cent
(World Health Organization).
CONTACT: Erinn Steringa
Tel: (613) 230-5182, ext. 228
Cell: (613) 889-9865
SWAN Canada - Coordinating Office
321 Chapel Street, Ottawa, ON K1N 7Z2
esteringa@watercan.com
www.swancanada.org
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