Without water and sanitation, sustainable development is impossible. We are now behind on achieving our goals; business as usual in the water and sanitation sectors is no longer an option. Allowing failures in integrity and widespread corruption to hamper progress on SDG 6 is no longer an option.
We know that:
- Corruption in water and sanitation kills – it results in poor and even no service delivery, impacting hardest on the poor and marginalised.
- Corruption in water and sanitation is widespread – it is a global challenge, present in all countries.
- Corruption adds to the cost of services – in addition to the added financial cost of corruption, there is the social and environmental costs of inadequate water service and management resulting from corruption.
- Action can be taken to reduce the risk of corruption and improve integrity, thereby delivering more cost effective, sustainable and safe water and sanitation services. It’s not magic. It requires conscious leadership and robust strategies for TAPA: Transparency, Accountability, Participation, Anti-corruption
As we head to New York, we at the Water Integrity Network, call on governments, funding agencies, civil society and the private sector to commit to tackling corruption in water and sanitation. Leave out the empty promises and ensure Transparency, Accountability, and Inclusive Participation are front and centre in the Water Action Agenda.
Water Integrity Network events at the UN2023 Water Conference
Thursday, March 23 at 15:00 EDT
Hearing the Unheard for the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation
We are coorganising the #HearingTheUnheardHRWS hybrid side event, where we are giving the mic to representatives of marginalised communities facing water and sanitation issues but generally excluded from local accountability mechanisms: informal settlement dwellers, pastoralist farmers, indigenous groups, rural communities, young people, sanitation workers, informal workers among others.
Marginalised people are often not able to claim their rights or hold power to account because they are not seen or treated as legitimate participants by public or private actors. They are excluded from formal participation and accountability processes in the countries where they live, and from global decision-making processes and engagements.
The side event, submitted by South Africa and Liberia, will foreground representatives from marginalised groups who do not have the ECOSOC status, special accreditation, or the opportunity to participate in the UN Water Conference in person in New York. There will be live and video testimonies from people all over the world, and responses from the UN Special Rapporteur, OHCHR, and national and local governments.
Join us online Thursday, March 23 at 15:00 EDT (Register here)
or contact us for a spot at the live event in New York (Church Center, 777 UN Plaza)
We will also be present at these events:
Tuesday, 21 March 2023, 4:30 PM EDT (Dylan Hotel, Concorde Room)
Where is the accountability?
How to finance accountability for accelerated systemic improvements in WASH service delivery and water resources management.
An Accountability for Water side event with WIN, WASH United, Simavi, PASGR, End Water Poverty, and IRC.
Wednesday, 22 March 2023, 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM (EDT) (Millennium Hilton New York One UN Plaza Hotel (Riverview Conference Room))
Launch of the New IBNET – Scaling Urban WSS Services through Data Culture: from Data to Action
Closing the growing urban water gap will require new tools and data culture for utilities to turn around their performance. This session will be a space to share insight on the importance of data, also covering integrity, to improve utilities’ performance.
A World Bank event with 2030 Resources Group and GWSP.
Thursday, 23 March 2023, 6:30 PM EDT (UN Headquarters, room B)
How to make the water action agenda gender transformative: connecting policy, practice, and research
A showcase of the interplay between gender, social inclusion, unequal power relations, and water and sanitation issues with concrete recommendations for transformation.
An event by Simavi with the Ugandan Ministry of Water and Environment, ANEW, Stockholm Environment Institute, The Government of the Netherlands, UWASNET, and WIN.
Do you want to meet us in New York? Please reach out to set up a chat.