END WATER POVERTY – Global Manifesto Signed @ Istanbul, May 2011

“… 4000 children die every day from diarrhoea caused by unclean water and poor sanitation.”

Organizations sign Global Manifesto to demand Action

at the UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries in Istanbul, May 2011

Organisations working against poverty have joined together to demand change at the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC-IV) in May 2011 in a manifesto released today.

Read the LDC Manifesto here (PDF File 546KB), in both English and French

The LDC Conference will host politicians from developed and developing countries, as well as civil society members. They will meet to discuss progress in 48 of the world’s poorest countries – and End Water Poverty is leading the call to demand urgent action on water and sanitation to improve the lives of millions living in LDCs.

And we are not alone. Just last week over 350,000 people globally took a stand in The World Walks for Water campaign. 30,000 people across Nepal joined the call for action, as well as 50,000 across Uganda. In other LDCs too, from Liberia, Togo, Timor-Leste, and Burkina Faso – people took part in the campaign to show urgent action is needed.

The manifesto calls for a commitment from governments that no credible country plan aiming to deliver water and sanitation to the poor should fail for want of financing. Crucially, it has been found that international aid to water and sanitation is often not directed to the poorest and worst served countries and communities – another issue the manifesto calls attention to.

Read the LDC Manifesto here (PDF File 546KB), in both English and French

At a meeting in London today, the UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for the LDCs, Mr Cheick Sidi, LDC Watch’s Mr Arjun Karki and the UK’s Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for International Development, Mr Stephen O’Brien MP spoke about their hopes for LDC-IV and outlined ambitious targets for water and sanitation in the 48 countries. End Water Poverty campaigners have seen the draft Istanbul Programme for Action, the document that will be adopted at LDC-IV, and applaud the ambition of the document which states that by 2020 all LDCs will have access to clean water and basic sanitation.

As we applaud this ambition, we also appeal for this target to be expanded upon, and for the tangible steps and processes to realise the ambition to be clearly set out.

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