The UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe (WHO-Europe) published 'The Equitable Access Score-Card: Supporting Policy Processes to Achieve the Human Right to Water and Sanitation.'

Aims of the score-card include
- establishing a baseline measure of the equity of access to water and sanitation
- discuss further actions
- evaluate progress through self-assessment
- provide a framework to assess governance frameworks, geographic disparities, access for vulnerable and marginalized groups, and water and sanitation affordability

Please see water-l.iisd.org/news/unece-who-europe-r...ater-and-sanitation/ for more information.

(Posted by Roslyn)

Dear all

Found the following interesting in the attached "A Briefing Note of the Third session of the Meeting of the Parties (MOP 3) to the Protocol on Water and Health to the UN Economic Commission of Europe (UNECE) Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes (Water Convention): Special Session on Equitable Access to Drinking Water and Sanitation"

Progress on Sanitation stagnation in Europe!

On the importance of international cooperation to secure equitable access to water globally, Carola Bjørklund, Ambassador to the Council of Europe Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway, emphasized Europe is the only continent where progress on access to adequate sanitation is stagnating, saying this is unacceptable. She called for
establishing cooperation between the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and countries needing financial assistance, and emphasized the important role
that cooperation between the UNECE, WHO and EBRD plays in ensuring the affordability of water access.

Do the practitioners out there agree with Tom Williams?

Providing the practitioners perspective, Tom Williams, International Water Association (IWA), highlighted three challenges faced by practitioners in implementing the human right to water and sanitation. First, he identified a misconception in language, noting the need to develop a glossary of common language on the human right to water and sanitation. Second, he underscored the need to reconcile the long-term affordability for customers and full cost recovery. Third, he stressed that the capacity to collect and report on data must be expanded, saying the Protocol is a great platform to support monitoring frameworks.

Rgds
Trevor