Sanitation and Water for All
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The Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) is a global partnership committed to achieving universal access to clean
drinking water Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, a ...
and adequate
sanitation Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation syste ...
. In 2015, 2.4 billion people lacked access to improved sanitation, 946 million people defecate in the open and 663 million people lack access to basic water sources. Over 100 partners, including governments, civil society and development partners, work together as part of SWA. The SWA Partnership organizes meetings called "High Level Meetings" (HLM). After two HLM in 2010 and 2012, the third HLM took place in Washington, D.C., in April 2014, with over sixty delegations from developing countries and donors, including 20 finance ministers from SWA partner countries. SWA's communications team was hosted by the
Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council The Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) was a United Nations-hosted organization contributing to Sustainable Development Goal 6, Target 6.2 on sanitation and hygiene.WSSCC (2018Annual Report of WSSCC Geneva, Switzerland ...
(WSSCC) until the end of 2019. From 2020 onwards, it is being hosted by
UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...
.


Mission

SWA is committed to achieving universal access to clean
drinking water Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, a ...
and adequate
sanitation Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation syste ...
. In order to accomplish this goal, it not only promotes the supply of water services through investment in infrastructure, but also contributes to the adoption of good hygiene behaviours, which have been found important to assure that physical infrastructure is properly used and maintained in the long run.


Partnership

SWA's partners are categorized into six different constituencies. Each constituency is represented on the steering committee, which holds decision-making authority for the partnership. SWA has the following partner categories: * Government partners (governments that are supporting their own domestic implementation of the objectives of SWA) * External Support Agencies (multilateral partners, donor partners and development banks) * Civil Society (non-profit organizations or networks active at national, international or regional levels) * Research and Learning (academic institutions or agencies or networks with recognized technical and policy expertise and influence, and global and/or regional remit, undertaking or promoting research or learning in support of SWA objectives) * Private sector (for-profit businesses or networks representing business constituencies with recognized commitment, influence and global and/or regional remit that work in support of SWA's objectives), * Utilities and Regulators (at national level, influencing policy, linking government and WASH users, and enabling financing).


History

A number of water and sanitation stakeholders first conceptualised SWA in 2006 to improve access to sanitation and drinking water. In 2007, DFID reiterated its call for a better WASH sector coordination and the need for a Global Action Plan based “Five Ones”: # one annual global monitoring report; # one high level global Ministerial Meeting on water; # at country level, one national plan for water and sanitation; # one coordinating body; # and activities of the United Nations (UN) agencies in water and sanitation to be coordinated by one lead UN body under the UNDP country plan. In 2008, DFID, the Dutch Directorate-General for International Cooperation (DGIS), other donors and developing country governments officially agreed to create a Global Framework for Action on Sanitation and Water Supply (GF4A), which was launched at a side-event during the UN MDG High-Level Event. In April 2010, the partners organized the first high-level meeting in Washington, D.C., US, and developing countries and donors tabled commitments to improve sanitation and water. In September 2010, under a new name – Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) – the new partnership was formalized with an agreed governing document, an elected steering committee and a secretariat.


References


External links


SWA Official website
{{Authority control Sustainability organizations Water and the environment Organizations established by the United Nations Water organizations