Last week, SWA’s Head of Policy Lucinda O’Hanlon attended the Dushanbe Water Conference in Tajikistan, emphasizing the need for increased political prioritization on water and sanitation, as well as more accountability. Today, she’s reflecting back on six key takeways from the conference:
1. We are failing at political prioritization and leadership and we need to do better.
During the Conference, Saroj Jha from the World Bank showed us that water is not a political priority in most contexts. Developing countries, on average, spend only 1.2% of their national budgets on water. Compare that with 10-12% on transportation and 20% on energy.
Last year, at the UN Water Conference, the SWA partnership, the Government of the Netherlands, IRC WASH and UNICEF launched the Heads of State Initiatives which support Heads of State and Governments to make water and sanitation a priority of their mandate.
Heads of State Initiatives outline clear commitments to boost budget allocations, identify new financing sources, and develop plans for improving water and sanitation infrastructure. These initiatives also aim to increase climate resilience, eliminate open defecation and combat waterborne diseases. Earlier this month, President Salva Kiir Mayardit signed South Sudan's Compact on Water and Sanitation. Nine other countries are working on drafting and signing their own initiatives. This is a fantastic start, but we need to see more political will globally.
I was also inspired by Mohamed Diatta from Senegal, who led the preparations for the African Water Forum. He told me that 12 African countries shared their experiences and challenges on implementing UN Sustainable Development Goal 6 (water and sanitation for all). Participants agreed that resources, including domestic resources, are available. Political will is what is needed to accelerate progress
2. We need political prioritization in order to get investment right.
Adequate funding is crucial for developing and maintaining water and sanitation infrastructure. Political prioritization ensures that water and sanitation projects receive the necessary budgetary support. This includes not just initial capital investments but also ongoing operational and maintenance costs.
3. We can’t blame the climate community for not prioritizing the links with water and sanitation.
Instead, we need to help them better understand the problems and find the solutions. We can do that by providing them with research and data and through advocacy efforts. For example, SWA’s own climate policy team has been collaborating closely with the UNFCCC and supporting the development of targets and indicators for water and sanitation within the Global Goal on Adaptation framework which was delivered at last year’s UN Climate Conference (COP28). The Global Goal strongly focuses on reducing vulnerability and increasing resiliency to the immediate and predicted impacts of climate change.
4. Too many of us are working in silos.
We want to see increased collaboration across sectors and agencies: the water and sanitation sector linking up with the climate and finance sectors and then putting their heads together. For example, how can we work together to improve climate risk forecasting—addressing water scarcity, floods, and droughts—and balance the competing interests of water use among commercial industries, agriculture, tourism, and households?
5. Water, sanitation, and hygiene are the cornerstones of public health, dignity, and sustainable development.
It exemplifies the adage, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Investing in these services is essential for preventing a wide range of waterborne diseases, such as cholera, diarrhea, and dysentery. These diseases disproportionately affect children, leading to high morbidity and mortality rates. Furthermore, UNICEF estimates that in addition to the lack of water and sanitation services in households, some 1 in 4 health-care facilities globally do not have basic water services. Around 1 in 5 lack sanitation, and 1 in 6 have no hand hygiene facilities.
6. Effective water and sanitation programs require community-centric approaches, involving local organizations, women and youth in design and implementation.
Community involvement fosters a sense of ownership and responsibility towards water and sanitation services, which can enhance long-term sustainability and maintenance of infrastructure. Additionally, it brings critical civil society, women and youth leaders to the table who often have innovative approaches to climate resilience and adaptation making infrastructure more robust and adaptable. Case in point, I was delighted to meet rising star Mumina Abdulvohidzoda, a UN Volunteer with UNICEF Tajikistan, at the Conference. She played a key role in organizing the Youth Forum, where once again youth leaders called for more political backing and opportunities for increased engagement.
There is incredible momentum in our water world right now as we move towards 2030, the deadline of the Sustainable Development Goals. Upcoming key events include SWA’s 2025 Sector Ministers’ Meeting, the World Water Forum in Saudi Arabia in 2027, and two UN Water Conferences – the first in 2026 hosted by Senegal and UAE, and the second in 2028 in Dushanbe. We must continue to use these crucial platforms to elevate political prioritization. We must also continue to strengthen cross-sector connections, integrating water and sanitation into climate policy, and aligning with social policies in health, education, housing, social protection, and equality.