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Sanitation and Water for All at Stockholm World Water Week 2013

Anonymous
03 Oct 2013

Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) partners were involved in a series of activities during the 2013 World Water Week in Stockholm. The conference brought together SWA partners and high level speakers to share progress and their perspectives on WASH-related issues.

Elevating Political Momentum for Sanitation and Water

On Tuesday 3 September, SWA convened a session entitled Elevating Political Momentum for Sanitation and Water. The event identified strategic actions to retain political momentum for WASH.

Learn all about the session by reading the SWA storify page (all SWA social media captured on one page to tell a compelling story) to get the essence of the discussions, the inspiring comments from speakers and other updates.

The Role of Aid Effectiveness in Supporting the Transition from WASH Relief to Development.

SWA also convened a session on Thursday 4 September on The Role of Aid Effectiveness in Supporting the Transition from WASH Relief to Development. Many SWA Partners participated and led events throughout the week.

SWA Chair H.E. John A. Kufuor, former president of Ghana at World Water Week

WA Chair, H.E. John Agyekum Kufuor opens Africa Day and closes SWA session on Elevating the Political Dialogue for Sanitation and WaterWA Chair, H.E. John Agyekum Kufuor opens Africa Day and closes SWA session on Elevating the Political Dialogue for Sanitation and Water

His Excellency John A. Kufuor, former President of Ghana (2001-2009), Global Network’s NTD Special Envoy and Chair of SWA, was in Stockholm to champion the urgency of developing cross-sector partnerships to expand access to safe water and adequate sanitation and halt the transmission of debilitating NTDs, which are often spread through inadequate water supply, poor sanitation and lack of hygiene.

Throughout the week, President Kufuor shared his commitment to tackling these issues during official conference sessions, including the Africa Day Session – hosted by the African Union Commission, and the Stockholm Water Prize Seminar – chaired by the King of Sweden, His Majesty Carl XVI Gustaf. President Kufuor shared his experiences as former President of Ghana in increasing political commitment to support national integrated WASH and health approaches and suggested how Ghana’s successes and lessons learned about political leadership can be applied to other countries

Watch H.E. John Kufuor, former President of Ghana and SWA Chair, talk about WASH

Read Sanjay Wijesekera's blog post about H.E. John Kufuor in Stockholm:
A great African statesman and one of the nicest people you could ever meet

Read Darrren Saywell's blog post:
Sanitation Smörgåsbord: politics + evidence + commitments = accountability

Read Piers Cross' blog post:
Reflections on World Water Week in Stockholm: Making History

WASH AND Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs)

Today, 768 million people do not have access to an improved water source, 1.4 billion people have one or more neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). An astounding 2.5 billion people lack access to basic sanitation. With a billion people in the world still practicing open defecation, it is urgent that we address sanitation in order to tackle a variety of health problems, of which NTDs are some of the most pressing. New approaches in sanitation are offering hope that we can bring about a “sanitation revolution”.

SWA & Global Networks joint message on WASH and NTDs

Statement by the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases and Sanitation and Water for All on the occasion of World Water Week in Stockholm 2013

SWA at World Water Week in the media

The Guardian: UN calls for greater focus on sanitation and an end to open defecation

UN News Centre: World Water Week: UN deputy chief urges greater international cooperation on sanitation

Ghana Broadcasting Corporation: UN deputy chief stresses importance addressing issue of sanitation

Vibe Ghana: Kufuor decries rise of disease burden in Africa

The Guardian: 'We need to talk about open defecation'

GhanaWeb: Opinion: Kufuor, Ghana's former selfless leader