December 14, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON – Today, Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Ted Poe (R-TX) introduced H.R. 3658, the “Water for the World Act of 2012,” bipartisan legislation that strengthens U.S. foreign assistance in water and sanitation by leveraging innovation, strengthening partnerships, and improving transparency and accountability without making additional demands on the foreign assistance budget. The bill improves the effectiveness of our aid programs and moves us towards greater country-ownership of projects, while ensuring our investments provide long-term benefits. It allows us to provide more while using less in support of the world’s poorest people.

Nearly 900 million people around the world don’t have clean drinking water and 2.6 billion lack access to improved sanitation. The absence of these resources poses a significant challenge for development and security around the world, reinforcing a cycle of poverty and instability that represents both a humanitarian disaster and a national security threat.

“We can improve access to clean water by improving leadership and accountability,” said Blumenauer. “We don’t have to spend millions searching for a cure, because something as simple as teaching the value of washing hands or providing access to basic technology we already have is all it takes to save millions of lives. Without asking for any increase in funding, the Water for the World Act puts in place a new set of priorities for our foreign assistance programs that will make them more effective at delivering the help that many so desperately need.”

“Water is key to just about every kind of development,” said Poe. “If we don’t get water right, it doesn’t matter how many schools we build or vaccines we pass out- we might as well throw our money down the drain. This bill is about using taxpayer dollars more effectively by making water a priority in any development discussion- like it should be.”

Children are most vulnerable to water-related diseases: 90% of all deaths caused by diarrheal diseases are among children under 5 years of age, mostly in developing countries. In all, 1.8 million children under the age of 5 die every year, more than from AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined. The economic impacts are devastating: in India alone, inadequate sanitation costs $53.8 billion every year, or 6.4 percent of the country’s GDP.

This legislation drives our development assistance programs to provide a greater, more effective role in providing access to clean water and sanitation. Building upon the success of the 2005 Water for the Poor Act, this bill enhances the capacity of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the State Department to play a greater, more effective role in development assistance as well as mitigate cross-border conflict. The bill:

• Elevates the existing position of the Global Water Coordinator within USAID to integrate and implement water strategies, and deliver aid more effectively;

• Elevates the existing position of the Special Advisor for Water Resources within the State Department to coordinate the diplomatic policy of the U.S. with respect to global freshwater issues;

• Increases the sustainability of water, sanitation and hygiene projects to ensure that our investments continue to provide benefits over the long-term;

• Increases country-ownership of water, sanitation and hygiene projects to ensure that our foreign assistance dollars meet the needs of poor local communities, rather than officials in Washington; and

• Increase transparency of aid and creating monitoring and evaluation standards that focus on impact to ensure USAID and the State Department can identify and utilize best-practices.

The communities living in Rage and Kutur are nomadic pastoralists, with an estimated population of 150 households. For the past three years, the people have been suffering from outbreaks of waterborne diseases like dysentery and diarrhea due to poor sanitation practices and lack of safe water.

They did not have latrines and practiced open defecation. Most of the wells in the area were unprotected and were often crowded by livestock and human beings. During the rainy season, the area around the water points became swamps, with the animal droppings and fecal waste around the water point washing into to the water points.

Through the MWA-KP, Food for the Hungry has implemented WASH activities that have changed the lives of these communities. FH constructed four single-door latrines for the community, protected three shallow wells in the area, and installed new hand pumps. FH also conducted training on good hygiene and sanitation practices in the community. Household water treatment and safe storage were special areas of concern.

Thanks to this work, incidents of dysentery and diarrhea outbreaks have been reduced. Very importantly, the communities realize that they have the major part to play in ensuring that they remain healthy.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah announced that the U.S. Agency for International Development has joined the Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) Partnership. The SWA Partnership brings together governments, donors, civil society organizations, and development partners to achieve sustainable sanitation and drinking water.

USAID and the U.S. Department of State are committing a total of $1 million to the World Bank’s Water and Sanitation Program. The investment will support the SWA-led National Planning for Results Initiative, which promotes national planning efforts related to sanitation and water. The economic gains from investing in sanitation and water are estimated at $170 billion per year.

“The United States Government considers sanitation and water and our related partnering activities to be a critical component of our overall international development assistance effort,” Administrator Shah said during remarks at the SWA High Level Meeting. “We look forward to maximizing the potential of this partnership, which brings together such a range of tools, experience, and approaches. Working together, we can not only reach full coverage, but we can also do it in the most effective, efficient, and collaborative way.”

Established in 2010, SWA’s biennial High Level Meeting brings together Ministers of Finance from developing countries, Ministers of Development Cooperation from donor countries, and high-level representatives from development banks and other donor institutions.

Last month, the United Nations announced that the Millennium Development Goal for a 50 percent reduction in the number of people living without access to safe drinking water had been achieved in 2010 – five years ahead of schedule. Even with that target met, more than 780 million people, particularly those in fragile states and poor communities, still live without access to safe water. Progress in sanitation has been slower. Today, 2.5 billion people still lack access to improved sanitation and it is unlikely that the Millennium Development Goal target for sanitation will be met by 2015.