WaterAid responds to the appointment of Alok Sharma as new Secretary of State for DFID

Posted by
Emily Pritchard
on
25 July 2019

Tim Wainwright, Chief Executive of WaterAid, said:

“We welcome Alok Sharma as the new Secretary of State for DFID and look forward to continuing our work together to break the cycle of poverty. We have seen strong and repeated statements from DFID about how getting clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene to everyone, everywhere is a priority, but this has yet to be born out in any action. 
 
“Water and sanitation receive a paltry percentage of the aid budget compared to other sectors, despite this Sustainable Development Goal being one of the furthest behind and a foundation for achieving many other goals. At current rates of progress, some countries will not gain access to even the most basic of sanitation services for centuries, a shocking statistic for something that is a human right. We urge Sharma to do what his predecessors have failed to do – raise the investment on these basic rights to match the scale of the crisis or we will fall to end poverty for good.” 
 
Spokespeople available for interviews. Please contact: Emily Pritchard
Global News Manager on [email protected] or 07725 991201.

ENDS

WaterAid

WaterAid is working to make clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene normal for everyone, everywhere within a generation. The international not-for-profit organisation works in 28 countries to change the lives of the poorest and most marginalised people. Since 1981, WaterAid has reached 26.4 million people with clean water and 26.3 million people with decent toilets. For more information, visit www.wateraid.org/uk, follow @WaterAidUK or @WaterAidPress on Twitter, or find WaterAid UK on Facebook at www.facebook.com/wateraid.

  • 785 million people in the world – one in ten – do not have clean water close to home.[1]
  • 2 billion people in the world – almost one in four – do not have a decent toilet of their own.[2]
  • Around 310,000 children under five die every year from diarrhoeal diseases caused by poor water and sanitation. That's almost 800 children a day, or one child every two minutes.[3]
  • Every £1 invested in water and toilets returns an average of £4 in increased productivity.[4]
  • Just £15 can provide one person with clean water.[5]
  • To find out if countries are keeping their promises on water and sanitation, see the online database www.WASHwatch.org 
     

[1] WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) Progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene: 2017 update and SDG Baselines

[2] WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) Progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene: 2017 update and SDG Baselines

[3] washwatch.org

[4] World Health organization (2012) Global costs and benefits of drinking-water supply and sanitation interventions to reach the MDG target and universal coverage

[5] www.wateraid.org

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