| Meeting the water and sanitation targets of the Millennium Development Goals? | Thursday, 22. May 2008 |
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| Business called on governments to take urgent steps to increase commitment at all levels towards reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for water and sanitation during the 16th session of the United Nations Commission for Sustainable Development (UN CSD). “Businesses of all sizes are significant investors in water, wastewater and sanitation," said Björn von Euler, ITT's communications director and WBCSD Water Project Co-chair. “They are making their contribution at local and regional levels, often in conjunction with public authorities, who they recognize must usually take the lead." The CSD – a subsidiary of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) – is currently assessing the progress made in implementing the water and sanitation decisions made in 2005 during its 13 th session. “While it is widely accepted that access to clean water is essential to the realization of the Millennium Development Goals, implementation of international commitments on water and sanitation has been slow. The 2008 review is therefore of critical importance to the international water agenda,"said WBCSD Managing Director Jürg Gerber. MDG Target 10 is to “halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation." At current trends, the world is expected to fall short of meeting the sanitation target by more than 560 million people and would still leave 1.8 billion people with inadequate sanitation if the goal is met. | |
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