The Killing Fields of Sanitation - Political Neglect: Excerpts from an inspiring debate at World Water Week

 

The seminar was jointly organised by the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC), Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), and the French Coordination for Water.

 

A controversial title and five high level panellists, H.E Mrs. Lindiwe Hendricks, Minister for Water Affairs and Forestry, South Africa, H.E. Dr. Anna Tibaijuka, Executive Director, UN-Habitat, Mr. Jean-Pierre Elong Mbassi, Secretary General of United Cities and Local Governments of Africa, Mr. Goran Holmqvist, Acting Director General of SIDA, and Mr. Jean-Luc François, Deputy Director of Sectoral Policies and MDGs, French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, were key ingredients in a spirited debate at the 2007 World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden.  The debate focused on why more than a third of the world’s population still lacks access to safe sanitation—a situation that affects their health,  dignity, and economic potential.

The panel was moderated by Mr. Robert Lamb, who opened the debate by asking the panellists whether governments had given up on sanitation, as the number of unserved people is continuously growing.  He also questioned whether we all, including politicians, are getting used to the numbers of people dying as a result of inadequate or nonexistent sanitation schemes. 

Minister Hendricks countered the question by taking issue with the title of the seminar, contending that no government likes to see its people dying. She further argued that over the last ten years, sanitation has climbed the ladder of political priorities, and is now equal to water in that context.  She did concede, though,  that this momentum should be maintained in order to push sanitation even higher up on the political agenda.  According to Minister Hendricks, “Sanitation is not only for politicians, it is for all, since it implies dignity, health, women, environment, education, safety and security.”

Dr. Tibaijuka also referred to the rising profile of the sanitation debate, at both the national and local government levels. She pointed out that the challenge is not only a matter of political will, but also the need to involve the public domain and the media.  She also pushed for raising awareness at the household level, contending that “It is necessary to reach out to the people lacking safe sanitation, since they are the ones who need to mobilize the politicians.”  Dr. Tibaijuka acknowledged, however, that the complexity of the problem and the taboos associated with toilets form obstacles that inhibit and disadvantage the sanitation discussion.  With regard to the ever-growing urban slums, she contended that it is not very effective to provide sanitation to homeless people. 
 
Also disagreeing with the notion of ‘political neglect’ was Mr. Elong Mbassi. He argued that local governments do take sanitation seriously.  According to Mr. Elong Mbassi,  “The key lies in the dialogue between the local and national governments; the greater the role of local authorities, the smaller the risk of political neglect.” In answer to the question of whether local business is a key player in providing sanitation services, he pointed out that private business is already providing most of the coverage, but the challenge there is how they can be more performance-focused and less corrupt.

Mr. François argued for the need for a clear strategy for sanitation, including forging partnerships. He also strongly stressed the vital importance of emphasizing the economic costs associated with under-investment in sanitations services.

The panel discussion also included questions and comments from the audience and evolved on to the need to create awareness within communities, since sanitation will only be a priority at the political level when it is as household level.  A call for empowering the people directly affected by inadequate basic sanitation was echoed in various messages, including by the Prince of Orange, who argued that we should not reach out to the already-converted. Successful awareness-raising campaigns were debated in order to see whether sanitation experts could learn from other sectors.
The debate further raised issues as diverse as law enforcement and alternative ways of funding sanitation.  Offering a donor perspective, Mr. Holmqvist stressed the need for an integrated approach to coordinate the various aspects of sanitation, stating that “Responsibilities are too often shared and shuffled around, which ultimately weakens the sector.”

According to Jon Lane, who reported on the seminar, the overall message of the debate could be captured as the following: we lack activism, so we need to invest in public awareness as much as we embark on actual implementation schemes.