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Campaigning achievementsUn High Level Event, September 2008
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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
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| Credit: Randy Quan |
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
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| Credit: Steve Bainbridge |
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
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| The End Water Poverty coalition logo. |
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
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Campaigners outside the EU Commission's offices with 21,600 signed postcards calling for radical reform of the EU Water Initiative and the scrapping of the EU water Facility. |
| Credit: WaterAid |
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 more decision makers than otherwise might have been unaware of the issue.
Make Poverty History - June 2005
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| Credit: Steve Bainbridge |
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:
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Over 500,000 people contacted the Prime Minister
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Over 800,000 campaigning emails were sent through the Make Poverty History website
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8 million white bands were worn
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225,000 people marched in Edinburgh, over half joining a protest for the first time
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The G8 signalled an extra $48 billion in aid per year by 2010
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The EU promised to double aid spending over 5 years, to 0.51% of spending by 2010
Make Poverty History 2004-2005
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| Credit: WaterAid |
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
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| Credit: Alex Macro |
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
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| Credit: Tearfund |
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.
