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Campaigning achievementsDecember 2011
Just a few weeks after the launch of our "Water Works" campaign, International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell announced that he plans to attend the Sanitation and Water for All partnership High Level Meeting in April 2012. This shows the UK is really committed to championing this hugely overlooked sector and sends a strong message to other governments to do the same. The news came after 25 of WaterAid supporters went to see their MPs to talk about the importance of prioritising water and sanitation. They were supported by thousands of others who emailed their MPs and hundreds more who put pen to paper to write letters. Thanks to everyone who has supported the campaign so far. July 2011
Eleven-year-old Myron Wenden-Hadley delivered WaterAid's Loo Queue petition to the Secretary of State for International Development, Andrew Mitchell, saying: "It's not fair that some children are born in a country where they can't use a toilet and drink clean water, it's just lucky that I ended up in a country where we can. "I really believe that this is wrong and that we should be doing everything we can and 24,000 people agree with me and WaterAid and that's why they signed this petition." Thank you to everyone who joined the Loo Queue and supported our call for the UK Government to commit to helping to lift more people out of water and sanitation poverty in the world's poorest countries.
March 2011
On World Water Day, WaterAid supporters persuaded over 40 MPs including the International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell, Shadow International Development Secretary Harriet Harman, and Shadow Foreign Secretary Douglas Alexander, to walk for water at Westminster. They were joined by more than 300,000 people across the globe who walked for water in solidarity with the almost 900 million people worldwide who still have no access to safe drinking water.
December 2010
Bath MP Don Foster delivered a speech in the House of Commons in the 'Water, sanitation and hygiene in the developing world' debate. The Liberal Democrat MP spoke about the urgency with which the government needs to act on these issues if UK efforts to reduce international poverty are to be effective. Mr Foster consulted WaterAid before delivering his speech, which met with a positive response from the Minister of State for International Development, Alan Duncan, who said: "Achieving the Millennium Development Goals, including the two vital targets on clean water and improved sanitation, is at the very heart of the coalition's agenda on international development. I recognise and respect his interest in water and sanitation, and in particular his high regard for WaterAid, which we, too, consider a valued partner in our work."
September 2010
On 20-22 September 2010, heads of state from around the world met at the UN headquarters in New York to discuss progress towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals. The ongoing campaigning efforts of our fantastic supporters in the UK meant that we were able to make a real impression on decision makers. By handing in the 86,008 campaign actions taken by our supporters just days before the start of the summit, we were able to leave a lasting impression on the UK government, providing them with a strong reminder of the importance of sanitation to the achievement of the MDGs. To be personally thanked by the UK Secretary of State for International Development, Andrew Mitchell in a room full of heads of state is no mean feat and our supporter's actions contributed significantly to this.
May 2010
The new coalition government placed high importance on the role of water and sanitation in reducing global poverty, stating: 'We will support actions to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. In particular, we will prioritise aid spending on programmes to ensure that everyone has access to clean water, sanitation, healthcare and education; to reduce maternal and infant mortality; and to restrict the spread of major diseases like HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria.' - The Coalition: Our programme for Government, May 2010
Manifesto Mission, April 2010
Ahead of the 2010 general election, WaterAid supporters united to help target local politicians across the UK. Campaigners wrote influential messages and met with their MP’s and Parliamentary candidates to discuss ways in which the UK government should address the global water and sanitation crisis. Over 1,000 WaterAid supporters contacted their local politicians ensuring that the message got through loud and clear. We are pleased to report that the incredible campaigning efforts of WaterAid supporters brought real impact on all three main political parties. The parties clearly heard our calls to increase efforts to tackle the water and sanitation crisis making specific reference to water and sanitation in their pre election party manifestos. This is an amazing achievement, especially considering that sanitation did not appear in any of the election manifestos in 2005, with only the Liberal Democrats mentioning water. First High Level Meeting for Sanitation and Water, April 2010
The first ever High Level Meeting on Sanitation and Water was held in Washington, DC on Friday 23 April 2010. This was an historic event that marked the culmination of two years of campaigning by WaterAid for a global plan on combating the water and sanitation crisis. At the event, ministers and policy makers from over 30 countries had the opportunity to commit to financial and political action which would begin to reverse years of neglect. In addition, some countries made additional individual pledges, including Bangladesh committing to spending an extra $200m over the next five years and Senegal an extra $24m per year. The World’s Longest Toilet Queue, March 2010
Tens of thousands of campaigners from an incredible 80 countries stood in line this World Water Day in support of ‘The World’s Longest Toilet Queue’. Breaking a Guiness world record and creating the biggest water and sanitation mass mobilization moment to date, the queues placed crucial pressure on politicians attending the High Level Meeting for Water and Sanitation a month later. WaterAid supporters in the UK played their part by organising a number of imaginative queues in UK cities including Birmingham, Brighton, London, York and Scarborough. UN High Level Event, September 2008
At the UN High Level Event in New York in late September 2008, the Dutch and UK governments committed to holding an annual meeting on water and sanitation reviewing progress on meeting these basic human rights. This is a significant step and one that WaterAid has been calling for as part of the End Water Poverty campaign. It is thanks to the campaigning actions that our supporters have taken over the last year that we have seen this change. Many supporters wrote to Gordon Brown and Ban Ki-moon, sent postcards in their thousands to the Prime Minister of Japan just before the G8 and attended the End Water Poverty 'toilet queue' hand in on 2 July. WaterAid supporters have made a real difference. Along with our lobbying work we have made an important step in realising our goal of water and toilets for all. The 'Great Stink' G8 campaign 2007-2008
Ahead of the 2008 G8 summit in Japan, WaterAid supporters joined other members of the End Water Poverty coalition to demand the G8 take action to tackle the global sanitation crisis. Campaigners formed a 'toilet queue' outside the Japanese embassy in central London. Incredible campaigning efforts in support of End Water Poverty helped ensure that sanitation and water appeared on the 2008 G8 agenda and were included in the final declaration from the summit. Knit a river 2006- 2007
WaterAid launched the first ever knitted petition. Almost 100,000 woollen blue squares were sent in by supporters all over the country. We even received squares from as far away as New Zealand and the United States! Hundreds of people marched on Downing Street in May 2007 in support of End Water Poverty, carrying WaterAid's knitted river and demanding sanitation and water for all. The campaign was a an innovative way of raising public awareness amongst a completely new group of people in communities across the UK. Early Day Motion 1113 - End Water Poverty 2007
WaterAid is a founding member of the End Water Poverty campaign, which was launched in March 2007. Thanks to the efforts of WaterAid and Tearfund campaigners, who wrote to urge their MPs to support an Early Day Motion (EDM), a staggering 228 MPs signed the motion – over a third of UK MPs. This amazing achievement gave Bill Cash MP the opportunity to discuss the issue in parliament and publicly ask the then Secretary of State, Hilary Benn MP, to prioritise the issue. During the debate Hilary Benn MP said, "I congratulate the End Water Poverty campaign, initiated by WaterAid, on encouraging all of us to do more. We (United Kingdom) have done a fair bit already, but we need to do a lot more." Empty Glass campaign 2005 -2006
This was the first time that WaterAid had focused a campaign on the EU. It showed the clear determination of supporters to make water and sanitation a top priority for policy makers in Europe. Hundreds of letters written to MEPs and the thousands of signed postcards have brought the issue of better aid for water provision to the attention of many decision makers. Make Poverty History - June 2005
As part of the Make Poverty History campaign 18,314 signed toilet rolls were handed in to number 10 Downing Street, with messages calling for more and better aid. 2005 was a momentous year as part of the Make Poverty History:
Make Poverty History 2004-2005
In 2005 WaterAid became a member of the Make Poverty History coalition. As part of the coalition WaterAid focused on aspects of aid and how more and better aid is essential for water and sanitation. WaterAid campaigners and staff were among the 20,000 people listening to Nelson Mandela at the Make Poverty History rally in Trafalgar Square on 3 February 2005. On World Water Day, 22 March 2005, WaterAid campaigners took to the streets of their local towns and cities to wrap monuments or MPs in a white band, the symbol of make poverty history. Flush out poverty 2003-2004
In 2002-2003 the UK Government's direct spending on water and sanitation was just 2% of the aid budget. In response to this WaterAid launched the Flush out poverty campaign which called on the UK Government to increase the quantity and improve the quality of its aid spent on these basic needs. Throughout the course of this campaign over 80,000 people sent postcards, reflecting the campaigns message, to the Secretary of State for International Development and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. In 2006 we were delighted to see that our campaigning efforts pay off when the Government promised to double its spending on water and sanitation. Water Matters 2002-2003
Water Matters, a WaterAid and Tearfund campaign, urged the UK Government to ensure that sanitation was included in the Millennium Development Goals after its omission. Just before the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, accepted over 120,000 signatures of the Water Matters petition at number 10 Downing Street WaterAid were delighted when the importance of sanitation in poverty reduction was acknowledged and an addition made to the Millennium Development Goals to include a sanitation target to halve the proportion of people without access to sanitation by 2015.
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