• WECF News & Reports
• News from other sources

WECF Contributed to UNECE Publication “No One Left Behind”

How to redress significant inequalities in access to water and sanitation apparent at the European level? Check out for concrete guidance, successful practical and policy measures.

11.05.2012 | WECF

---

On the 13th of Mach 2012 the UNECE/WHO-Europe publication “No one left behind: Good practices to ensure equitable access to water and sanitation in the pan-European region" was launched at the 6th World Water Forum in Marseille in France. WECF and its partners actively contributed to the preparation of the publication by providing useful practices and lessons learned on policies and activities to secure equitable access to water and sanitation.


The publication as well as the brochure is downloadable here (in English, French and Russian)

UNICEF and The World Health Organisation (WHO) published a report regarding Millennium Development Goal 7c on the 6th of March 2012: reducing by half the number of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation has already been achieved. Despite this encouraging news, one should be aware that this document might conceal extremely relevant water-and-sanitation-related issues as the world is still far from meeting the MDG target for sanitation by 2015.

UNECE publication “No one left behind” has therefore received international attention in the recent month from different sides of political spectrum and the public as it highlights prevailing significant inequities in terms of access to sanitation and water affordability and quality.

Three key dimensions of equitable access are distinguished in the document:

• geographical disparities

• specific obstacles faced by vulnerable and marginalised groups, and
• affordability concerns.

The publication originates from the principle of the Protocol on Water and Health enshrined in Article 5 (l) to provide “equitable access to water, adequate in terms both of quantity and of quality, [...] for all members of the population, especially those who suffer a disadvantage or social exclusion”.

France led the expert drafting group who met several times in 2011 to prepare the document. WECF as well as partners from the WECF network took actively part in the meetings and assisted in the preparation and drafting of the document, inter alia by providing case studies.

For further information:

• Dr. Anke Stock, WECF Coordinator Gender and Rights, at anke.stock@wecf.eu
• Franziska Hirsch, Environmental Affairs Officer, UNECE Environment Division, at Franziska.Hirsch@unece.org
  

Learn more about WECF activities in the field of Water and Sanitation
WECF publications on Safe Water and Sustainable Sanitation

WECF and partners represent civil society in the UNECE Protocol on Water and Health process and advocate for an integrated and sustainable approach to water resource and river basin management.

WECF implements decentralised, safe sustainable and affordable sanitation systems for rural areas and promotes in particular access to safe water and sanitation for schools.

Donate to WECF to support our campaigns

---

Related News

WECF Activity Map

Annual Report WECF 2011