WaterAid's Media Relations Manager, Ann Noon, blogs from 2nd Africa Water Week at the Gallagher Convention Center, Midrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
A sprint to the finish. That’s the overriding theme of this year's Africa Water Week taking place this week in Midrand, South Africa. The emphasis is on action; on implementing the Sharm el Sheikh commitments so that progress towards reaching the Millennium Development Goals on water and sanitation is accelerated.
Alongside hundreds of delegates from ministries, NGOs and civil society organisations from across the continent, WaterAid is pushing for African governments to honour their commitments to water and sanitation made at the Sharm El Sheikh summit in Egypt, 2008.
The week is a great opportunity for WaterAid to share its experience, expertise and achievements in the water, sanitation and hygiene sector as well as an invaluable occasion to learn from other major players.
The week got off to a good start, with a Global Framework for Action meeting on Saturday attended by representatives from UNICEF, DFID and several African governments. Idrissa Doucoure, head of WaterAid's New Initiatives Unit was pleasantly surprised by the reaction at the meeting: "It was great to see how receptive and understanding people are of the fact that the Global Framework for Action can really help to advance the sector agenda," he said afterwards.
On Sunday, the African Civil Society Network on Water and Sanitation (ANEW) organized a civil society pre-meeting to identify key issues, gaps, and strategic ways forward. It particularly sought to articulate the specific roles and responsibilities civil society will have.
It promises to be a big week. Not only will we be looking to drive forward governments' action plans for banishing water and sanitation poverty once and for all but we also have a very special event taking place on Tuesday. For more details, watch this space...
Media contact:To interview spokespersons or for photos, video material, background information and copies of reports, or to attend the press conference, please contact: Ann Noon, Media Relations Manager, annnoon@wateraid.org, tel: 0044 7787 414307
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