WaterAid at the African Union Summit

12 July 2010

­­­­­­The 15th Ordinary Session of the African Union takes place 19-27 July in Uganda and will discuss Maternal, infant and child health and development in Africa.

Programme Officer Mara Van Den Bold is blogging live from Kampala before and during the Summit.

Click on the blog widget to see the latest pictures and read her updates, or click here  >>

Download our two page AU Summit document here ( PDF, 496Kb)

Background information about this year's event:

The AU Summit focuses on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) four (reduce child mortality) and five (improve maternal health). Progress on these so far is unacceptable, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa.

WaterAid and the African Civil Society Network on Water and Sanitation (ANEW) have developed three core messages for the Summit:

1. Poor progress on access to sanitation and water has a profound impact on human health, particularly infant and child health.
   
   
2. Existing political and financial commitments made in Sharm el Sheikh and eThekwini on sanitation and water must be met if progress on maternal, infant and child health is to be made.
   
   
3. A Special Rapporteur* on WASH should be appointed to report to the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR), building on the work of the UN Independent Expert on human rights obligations related to access to safe drinking water and sanitation.
   

Part of the reason for poor progress is a global failure to acknowledge the extent to which the MDGs are interconnected and inter-dependent, and that they must be tackled in an integrated manner.

Interventions targeted at improving maternal, newborn and child health are often focused on the role of the healthcare system, with inadequate attention paid to the prevention of disease by addressing the social and environmental determinants of maternal and child mortality.

Importantly, insufficient progress on reaching the sanitation and water MDG target is undermining the achievement of targets on maternal, infant and child health.

As access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) is especially crucial for achieving the two MDGs on child mortality and maternal health, it is important for Heads of State to recognise that poor progress on access to sanitation and water has a profound impact on human health, particularly infant and child health.

Decisions made by Heads of State at the AU Summit will have significant influence on the outcomes of the discussions held during the MDG+10 Summit later in September 2010. 

African Heads of State must recognise the central role of sanitation, water, and hygiene in reducing child mortality and improving maternal health, and ensure that this is reflected in Summit decisions and action plans.

Further, African Heads of State play an important role in ensuring the recognition of the role of sanitation and water in maternal, infant and child health in global initiatives, such as the UN Secretary General Joint Action Plan for Women's and Children's Health.

It is therefore important that WASH forms an integral part of the discussions on child and maternal health in Africa, and in broader discussions on reaching the MDGs in Africa.

WaterAid will be participating in the preceding CSO Forum, which will bring together approximately 70 representatives from national and international civil society organisations, as well as the AU Summit itself and related media and campaigning activities.

• For more information, contact maravandenbold@wateraid.org or chloeirvine@wateraid.org

* An individual with a specific mandate to investigate, monitor and recommend solutions to specific human rights problems.