MINISTERIAL delegations from almost 40 developing countries assembled alongside major donors at a meeting hosted by UNICEF and the World Bank.The meeting, chaired by His Excellency John Agyekum Kufuor, former president of Ghana and Chair of SWA, and moderated by Jan Eliasson, Chair of WaterAid Sweden and incoming United Nations Deputy Secretary General Designate, resulted in commitments to take immediate steps to speed up global access to water and sanitation.Following engagement with Finance ministries, almost 40 developing countries made pledges that will provide an additional 60 million people with improved drinking water sources and another 80 millionpeople with access to improved sanitation over the course of the next two years. At the same time, donors announced plans to massively increase the number of people they are reaching.Presenting a statement on behalf of sector ministers entitled 'A Global Step Change for Universal Access', Chair of the African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW) and the South African Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Edna Molewa, described the failure to invest as 'a trigger to a downward slide into poverty'. The Ministers resolved to increase access to improved sanitation services by 7 per cent and increase access to improved water services by 5 per cent by the next High Level Meeting in 2014.Nigeria's Minister of Finance, Hon Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, brought the reality from the ground alongside solid economic analysis. In a speech inspired by personal experience, she demonstrated that sanitation and water are not an academic exercise but a real issue for millions of people around the world as she urged her colleagues to look at how they can better define and prioritise sanitation and water expenditure in their budgets.The meeting had a strong focus on the immense economic gains to be made from investing in sanitation and water, which are estimated at US $170 billion per year. If everyone had access to sanitation and water, the global health sector would save around US $15 billion every year. Further, civil society and others were keen to emphasize the equally important human and social development aspects of investment.Earlier, Nigeria and other developing countries confirmed ministerial representation at the SWA High Level Meeting. Others are Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Cte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Conakry, Indonesia, Kenya, Lao PDR, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Pakistan, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania, Timor Leste, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.Donors were well represented at a high level. The UK Secretary of State for International Development, Andrew Mitchell, announced that the UK is doubling the number of people they intend to reach with water, sanitation and hygiene education by 2015, from 30 million people to at least 60 million people globally.Meanwhile, the Dutch Minister for European Affairs and International Cooperation, Ben Knapen, announced a new cooperation between The Netherlands and the UK with UNICEF which which will bring water and sanitation to an additional 10 million people in nine countries, mostly fragile, post-conflict states, in West and Central Africa. USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah (United States of America) and Peter Baxter, Director-General of AusAID (Australia) also announced joining the Sanitation and Water for All Partnership.'We have taken great strides since the first High Level Meeting two years ago' said Kufuor. 'Today, I have been impressed by the scope, breadth and attention to detail of this Ministerial discussion. It is a powerful reminder that it is national leadership that will lift performance of this sector. We must now hold ourselves accountable. We will be judged by our actions not our words.'According to UNICEF, at least 2.5 billion cases of diarrhoea occur in children under five years of age every year, and an estimated 3,000 children die from it daily.The economic gains to be made from investing in sanitation and water are estimated at US $170 billion per year. If everyone had access to adequate sanitation and water services, the world`s health sectors would save around $15 billion every year.Organizers are hoping to build on the success of the first High Level Meeting in 2010, also convened by UNICEF at the World Bank, which led to increased focus and commitments from countries and donors. The 2012 meeting is greatly expanded, with 40 countries taking part, up from 18 in 2010. Of those present in 2010, nine countries have confirmed that they are meeting their commitments of increased budget allocations; and seven of the 13 donors present in 2010 have met or exceeded the targets they set for funding. Countries have also reported improved coordination and accountability among different institutions and almost half the donors have increased alignment with national planning processes.
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