Poor’s voice must be heard to end health crisis

The voice of the urban poor must be heard if the water and sanitation crisis is going to be addressed in developing countries.

Over the next 30 years, developing countries are predicted to triple their population size and account for 80% of the world’s urban population - the majority of whom will live in improvished slums without access to basic services.

These demographic changes are undermining international development goals and leading to water and sanitation poverty across the developing world.

WaterAid has responded to this by publishing a new urban toolkit designed to help develop informed and proactive citizen engagement. The toolkit can also be downloaded at www.wateraid.org/urbanreform

"In the developing world, many urban areas are unplanned, densely populated and unserved by even the most basic water and sanitation infrastructure," explained Timeyin Uwejamomere, WaterAid policy officer.

"Families live surrounded by raw sewage, drink unsafe water from polluted sources, or pay dearly for water from illegal vendors. As a result, water-related diseases such as cholera, typhoid and dysentery run rife.”

"Lack of access to water and sanitation is proving a major health crisis and is a key contributor to child mortality – which in slums can be up to twice rural figures. Globally, 4,000 children die every day from preventable diseases caused by a lack of safe water and sanitation; an increasing number of whom live in slums.”

Chronic water and sanitation shortages in slums are being exacerbated by local utilities that cherry pick those who get served, based on wealth and geographic considerations – rather than on need. This results in the poorest people in developing countries being denied basic services and a way out of poverty.

Uwejamomere added:

"Water and sanitation are integral to urban development. Poor people must be given the tools to demand governments and local providers give them access to these basic human rights."

With this in mind, WaterAid's new global urban toolkit – designed to provide tools to develop informed and proactive citizen engagement - was officially launched today in Nepal.

WaterAid stress the importance of the role civil society organisations can play in improving access to basic facilities such as drinking water and toilets.

Uwejamomere concluded: "We have seen time and time again that when poor people are empowered they can monitor service providers, and begin to influence policymakers to demand real and lasting change."

ENDS

For all media enquires or for a copy of the toolkit please contact:

Ann Noon, Media Relations Manager
Tel: +44 (0) 207 793 4790
Email: Annnoon@wateraid.org

The toolkit can also be downloaded at www.wateraid.org/urbanreform