On the verge of an unprecedented world commitment to end extreme poverty and create a fairer, more sustainable planet, WaterAidNepal urges leaders to deliver on the new UN Global Goals and leave no one behind.

Global Goal 6 commits UN member-states to delivering basic access to water, sanitation and hygiene to everyone, everywhere by 2030. The inclusion of this goal is a victory for more than 650 million people in the world today without access to clean water and 2.3 billion people without access to safe, private toilets.

Tripti Rai, Country Representative of WaterAidNepalsaid, “this is our chance to change the course of history and reach those who are poorest and most vulnerable. Water, sanitation and hygiene are fundamental to development. The recognition of the right to water and sanitation in the Constitution of Nepal is a progressive step forward to help achieve WASH goals with the right political commitment, collaboration, innovative thinking, and financing that also takes into account the lost-gains post the April 2015 earthquake in Nepal.”

A recent report by WaterAid, Essential Element, has found that 45 low-income countries have been failed by the developed world on financing for water, sanitation and hygiene services. They are chronically underfunded and will not meet the UN goal without new political and financial prioritization. Nepal is among these 45 countries.

The 17 Global Goals on sustainable development aim to tackle extreme poverty, inequalities and climate change, including the water and sanitation crisis which kills half a million young children each year from preventable diarrhoeal diseases.

According to a press release issued by Pragya Lamsal, Communications Officer WaterAid Nepal, this crisis compromises the ability of children to attend school and adults to engage in income-generating work. It affects women and girls, as they are tasked with collecting water, at higher risk of illness or infection in the absence of safe water, basic toilets and good hygiene, and are made more vulnerable to attack if they must relieve themselves in the open.

To achieve the goal to deliver water and sanitation to all, WaterAid is calling on governments to: Deliver on their promise to achieve the new global goal on water, sanitation and hygiene to ensure everyone everywhere has these essentials by 2030; 

Ensure that there are indicators to monitor progress for access to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene in homes, schools and healthcare facilities;

Ensure donor countries are meeting their commitments on foreign aid and giving sufficient priority to water, sanitation and hygiene programming; and

Ensure developing countries are prioritizing water, sanitation and hygiene programs at home and to find new and effective ways of mobilizing domestic resources.