Hi Everyone,

My name is Thilo Panzerbieter, executive director of the German Toilet Organization, Chair of the German WASH Network (consisting of 18 German NGOs working in the field of water, sanitation and hygiene). Since I was in Washington for the meeting, I also wanted to add my views:

I strongly believe in the Sanitation and Water for All Partnership (SWA), as it offers a unique platform for convinced WASH actors to join hands in raising the profile of water, sanitation and hygiene at the highest political level. Being elected by my colleagues as the “northern” Civil Society Representative at the 2014 SWA High Level Meeting (HLM) was therefore a great honour and I flew to Washington DC with a mixture of excitement, optimism, but also scepticism: Would the announced ministers really show up? What would their commitments be worth?
The impressive high level attendance at the Sector Ministers’ Meeting (SMM) and the HLM proved that the hard work of the past years is paying off. Compared to 2012 the number of attending Finance Ministers had quadrupled. The importance of the issue was highlighted by the presence of the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the World Bank’s President Dr. Jim Yong Kim, with more than 40 country delegations in attendance, making 265 new commitments. WASH is finally receiving the attention it deserves.
At the Sector Minister’s Meeting itself, I was pleasantly surprised by the approachability and earnestness of the approximately 35 sector ministers present. The priority that many nations give to the issue was exemplified by Ethiopia’s presence of three Ministers (Water/Infrastructure, Health and Education) at the SMM, only to be joined by their Minister of Finance at the HLM.
Coming back from Washington, I want to encourage others (like my own country, Germany) to engage more actively in the partnership. I also want to motivate my fellow colleagues in civil society to keep up the great work. Our important role was highlighted time and again by various constituencies. Everyone is counting on us to keep up the pressure, which is required, to assist the willing departments of our governments to fulfil their commitments.

Best regards,
Thilo

www.germantoilet.org
www.washnet.de

Dear Elisabeth,

Profound thanks - Great feedback!

Twitter is not banned. Yes, please fill me up through a direct email - Thanks again

Regards,

F H Mughal

Dear Mughal,

The video of the event is now available online here on the website of the World Bank:
live.worldbank.org/sanitation-water-for-...=SDN_TTWaterEN_D_EXT

Note this is not on Youtube - hopefully videos on the World Bank website are not banned in Pakistan and you can view it?*

By the way, is Twitter also banned? If not, then looking at the tweets with hashtag #HLM2014 also gives quite a good overview (www.twitter.com then click on "explore").

Some more feedback about this event:
worldstagegroup.com/index.php?active=news&newscid=15000&catid=3

View the commitments made by 52 countries and donors to expand access to WASH services (in alphabetical order):
de.slideshare.net/sanitationandwater4all...m-commitments-slides

Pakistan is on slide 33:



And another example, Kenya:



I can't really give any more feedback and reviews, as I wasn't there and only watched the video and followed the tweets.
But it would be nice if one of the people who did attend could write something here. I have asked Thilo Panzerbieter who was there as an elected representative of „Civil Society Organisations, Global North“ for his feedback.

What I found interesting is that at least the second half seemed quite relaxed and almost a bit informal, with the chair of the meeting (Jan Eliasson, Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations) speaking of his "friends" when he addressed some of these ministers and representatives.

Regards,
Elisabeth

* P.S. You do know that there are certain IT ways around these bans, don't you? I can send you information in a direct e-mail. However, if bandwidth is the problem, then these IT workarounds won't help you.

Thank you, Arno. I appreciate.

Elisabeth: Such reviews are helpful. Even videos, in most cases, are out of reach for me.
So, can you put up more reviews?

Regards,

F H Mughal

Here's a review of the SWA meeting in today's LANCET.

mail.elsevier-alerts.com/go.asp?/bELA001...5F/xAOOU29F/cutf%2D8

Water and sanitation: addressing inequalities
The Lancet
“Water is life”, said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, at the opening session of the high-level meeting on sanitation and water for all, in Washington, DC, on April 11, 2014. Yet lack of access to safe drinking water, and poor sanitation and hygiene in many parts of the world, often leads to death. The Lancet Series on childhood pneumonia and diarrhoea estimated that in 2011 around 700 000 child deaths occurred from diarrhoeal disease alone. The Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 7c target to halve the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe water by 2015 has been declared on track, yet 768 million people globally are still without access to safe drinking water. In a letter in today's Lancet, Mira Johri and colleagues argue that the indicator does not consider water quality, and should be reconsidered. Progress for sanitation is alarmingly off track. An estimated 2·5 billion people lack access to basic sanitation (functioning toilets and safe means to dispose of human faeces). A shocking 1 billion people practice open defecation, with one in nine living in rural areas. The high-level meeting gathered ministers and representatives of finance, health, and water and sanitation from 46 countries, donors, international organisations, and civil society to discuss how to reach water and sanitation targets. Margaret Chan and Jim Kim were both in attendance. The UN-Water Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking—Water (GLAAS) project, led by WHO, simultaneously released a preliminary reportInvesting in Water and Sanitation: Increasing Access, Reducing Inequalities. Special Report for the Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) High-Level Meeting (HLM). The report comprehensively analysed whether an enabling environment (governance, monitoring and evaluation, financing) for reaching water and sanitation targets exists for each country. The full report will be released in September, 2014, with data from 90 countries.

The good news is that there is progress. Cambodia for example, has increased access to safe water and sanitation in urban areas for all quintiles by implementing pro-poor policies. 7% of the population in urban areas practice open defecation, reduced from 28% in 2005. 75% of countries analysed have pro-poor universal access to water and sanitation policies, and three-quarters of countries have constitutions or legislation recognising the human right to water and sanitation. The alarming news is that although many countries have established policies for disadvantaged groups (poor individuals, populations with disabilities, urban slums, and remote communities), only 30% have financed implementation plans, and household contributions range from 6—97% of water, sanitation, and hygiene financing. More than 50% of the unserved population for water and sanitation live in middle-income countries .

Access to safe water and sanitation is essential to all development outcomes across the life course. It ensures healthy growth and prevention of water-borne and food-borne diseases causing diarrhoea, which contributes to stunting in children. Contaminated and stagnant water also contribute to the global burden of trachoma, and vector-borne diseases. 165 million children worldwide with stunted growth risk compromised cognitive development, physical capabilities, and future school performance; resulting in a less productive generation, with unfulfilled potential to contribute to the workforce and the economy.

Beyond direct health outcomes, investing in water and sanitation is essential to achievement of post—2015 sustainable development goals. The Lancet highlights four areas going forward. First, the poor must remain central to all planning, because they pay the highest individual cost in health and finances in efforts to access safe drinking water and sanitation. Donors and governments must target and urgently address open defecation in particular. Second, girls and women must be prioritised. They travel long distances to fetch water, and the lack of private sanitation facilities at schools to ensure their dignity and safety risks absenteeism and drop out. Third, in fragile states and situations, access to health services, clean water, and sanitation must be secured, rapidly and without question. The supply of clean drinking water and sanitation facilities can be the difference between life and death, not to mention risks to personal security. Fourth, and finally, with the rapid and uncontrolled growth of urban slums, climate change, conflict over water resources, and growing global demand for products and food that require water for production, all sectors beyond health must develop governance mechanisms to ensure that access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene, is a right for all. Only then can the global community return to the notion of water as life.

I am watching the live webcast of this meeting in Washington, USA (The Sanitation and Water for All 2014 High Level Meeting) right now, it is pretty interesting:
live.worldbank.org/sanitation-water-for-all-high-level-meeting



These live streams are the way to go for the future, I hope broadband internet access will continue to expand to all corners of the world to make it easier to attend in a virtual way all sorts of (sanitation) meetings around the world.

(Mughal: the video is not playing via Youtube so if your internet connection is fast enough you can watch it live, or later the recording from the Worldbank website).

Regards,
Elisabeth

P.S. You can also see the comments made on twitter during and after the event by filtering for: #HLM2014 (it was fun taking part with twitter, I feel like I have "met" some new people this way).

Dear Roslyn,

Thank you for your efforts, and for your help. I appreciate.

Normally, when I click on the videos, I either get the message "The video is not available in your area," or, "The connection has been severed."
You, probably, know that You-tube is banned in Pakistan.

So, for me, please put the recording in USB or CD, and have it mailed to me.
I do apologize for inconvenience.

Best regards,

F H Mughal

Dear Mughal,

That is a good question. I have emailed the organisers of the webcast and they said they will download the video to the World Bank Live website: live.worldbank.org/ after the meeting (usually 1-2 weeks later).

If there are difficulties to watch this video once it is posted, please let us know and we can see if there is a way we can help to make it more accessible.

Kind regards,

Roslyn

Dear Roslyn,

That is, beyond doubt, a major event. Those having slow or unstable internet connection (like me) may not be able to watch the event.

Would it be possible for the Secretariat to examine the possibilities of putting the videos in USB or CD, and mail it to those who need it?

Thanks and regards,

F H Mughal

Webcast for Sanitation and Water for All High Level Meeting: April 11, 2014
*Adapted from article featured on Sanitation Updates: sanitationupdates.wordpress.com/2014/04/...-high-level-meeting/ *



Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) will hold its High Level Meeting on April 11, 2014 in Washington, D.C. Interested individuals can watch the live webcast from 14:00 to 16:30 U.S. Eastern Time (18:00 – 20:30 GMT), as well as submit questions in advance. Please see the link for more information live.worldbank.org/sanitation-water-for-all-high-level-meeting (scroll down to the bottom of the page for the form to submit questions).

What is Sanitation and Water for All (SWA)?
SWA is a global partnership of over 90 developing country governments, donors, civil society organizations and other development partners working together to catalyse political leadership and action, improve accountability and use scarce resources more effectively. Partners work towards a common vision of universal access to safe water and adequate sanitation.

For an overview of the meeting, please see: sanitationupdates.wordpress.com/2014/04/...-high-level-meeting/
For the SWA official page, please see: sanitationandwaterforall.org/

(Posted by Roslyn)

For you who are working to improve WATSAN coordination at Country level the Sanitation and Water for ALL is making interesting progress on the country level dialogues and has developed an instrument called the National Planning for Results Initiative.
Is your country one of the countries that is interesting in trying out this initiative you should first ask yourself
1. Is your country off-track for MDG targets on water and/or sanitation?
2. Does your country lack a joint planning and review process with development partners?
3. Does your country have problems absorbing and spending available funds effectively?
4. Have previous efforts to get development partners and government to agree mechanisms for a joint approach to planning, budgeting and review been unsuccessful?
5. Does your government lack a clear sector lead, with responsibilities for WASH unclearly spread across a range of ministries, departments or agencies?

If the answer to all these questions is yes, your country could benefit by taking part in SWA-NPRI.

Read more about the country process´lead by SWA here www.sanitationandwaterforall.org/countryprocesses.html

and in particular about the SWA _NPRI here

www.sanitationandwaterforall.org/files/N...-%20Final%20_EN_.pdf

Enjoy
madeleine