‘Everyone Should Have Access to Water and Sanitation Services That We in This Room

 

Take for Granted,’ Says Secretary-General on Persistent, Pressing Challenge

 

Following are UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s remarks on “Addressing the Global Water and Sanitation Challenge:  The Key to the MDGs”, in New York, today, 22 September:

We are here because we know water is not only a basic necessity, it is a human right.  Without water, there is no life.  Yet hundreds of millions of people do not have access to safe, clean water.  Approximately 2.6 billion people lack safe sanitation facilities.

Living in these conditions increases the likelihood of disease and death.  It perpetuates poverty. 

Clearly, we must boost our efforts.  We are on track to meet the target for water, but all reports indicate that the Millennium Development Goals target for sanitation is far off track.  The challenge is particularly great in rural areas.

We must urgently work towards a world in which every person has access to clean, safe water every day.  To get there, drastic changes must happen in public health policies and sanitation infrastructure. 

Gender considerations must remain central.  As primary care-givers, women spend many hours simply trying to secure water.  Access to clean water and sanitation will free up time and enable mothers to provide their children with a healthy start in life.  Experience also shows that girls are more likely to attend school when there are proper sanitation facilities.

Governments recently created a “Sanitation and Water for All” initiative to more effectively deliver to those most in need.  I count on you here today, a diverse and committed group of leaders, to speak and take the necessary action on these issues.  The United Nations system is working to support you, including through the UN-Water programme. 

We have raised public awareness through campaigns such as the International Year of Sanitation in 2008.  We are also at the midpoint of the “Water for Life” decade that started in 2005.  Everyone should have the access to water and sanitation services that we in this room take for granted.

Thank you for your commitment to making these goals a reality.  Thank you for working to prevent needless deaths from water-borne diseases, to ensure that mothers have enough water to care for their families, to secure a life of dignity and health for billions of people around the world.  Let us build an unstoppable tide for progress.

* *** *

For information media • not an official record