Mission
The Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) was formally created in 1990 in line with a United Nations General Assembly resolution (A/RES/45/181), to continue the work of the International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade (1981-1990).
WSSCC's mission is to achieve sustainable water supply and sanitation for ALL people by following six core principles:
- WSSCC only exists to serve poor people
- The people themselves are at the centre of planning and action for achieving sustainable water and sanitation
- WSSCC works by enhancing collaboration among sector agencies and professionals rather than implementing its own projects
- Water and sanitation are essential for social and economic development
- WSSCC aims to be at the forefront of global knowledge, debate and influence in its field
- The number of people without sanitation is much greater than the number without water, while the agencies working in sanitation are fewer; therefore WSSCC dedicates most of its effort to sanitation and hygiene.
WSSCC, Vision 21 & the Millennium Development Goals
Currently, 1.2 billion people worldwide lack access to safe drinking water and 2.6 billion people lack access to adequate sanitation.
In 2000, the Collaborative Council presented "Vision 21", a process and a document that set out an ambitious plan to achieve global water supply and sanitation coverage by 2025. Vision 21 emphasizes the importance of people centred approaches to achieve sustainable water supply and adequate sanitation services.
In 2000, a water supply target and in 2002, a sanitation target were included in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). These targets are to halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and to basic sanitation. The Collaborative Council endorses and supports these targets, but its commitment does not end there.
Using the MDGs' targets as milestones, the Collaborative Council aims to improve access to water, sanitation and hygiene for all people. The Collaborative Council promotes achievement of the water supply and sanitation targets as an integral component of other MDGs - including the eradication of extreme poverty, the improvement of global health, and the attainment of gender equality and long-term social and economic development.