Thirst for change: What did the G8 deliver?
Talent from Zimbabwe, fetching water from a dry riverbed near her home with her mother
On 15 May, we delivered over 60,000 Thirst for change actions to David Cameron, calling on him to use his influence to help bring clean water and safe sanitation for all. The G8 on 18-19 May was a crucial opportunity for him to push other countries to act on water poverty, how did he do?
Support for international development and tackling poverty was on the G8 agenda, but discussions focused on food and nutrition, with some brief mentions of water and sanitation.
Progress made - but more to do
Head of campaigns Clare Lyons said: “We are disappointed that the G8 seems to have overlooked one of the fundamentals of life – water, and that sanitation keeps being neglected, despite the world water crisis and the importance of water in relation to food and nutrition. You spoke out loud and clear as part of Thirst for change, but it appears that our government failed to drive home the importance of water and sanitation to other G8 nations at this meeting.
“However, there is good news. Progress was made in the run up to the summit - your actions highlighted this issue with UK government in a powerful way, and they responded. In April the UK announced that it will double its support for water and sanitation, improving access for 30 million more people in the world’s poorest communities. In addition, half of the G8 members have now agreed to join the Sanitation Water for All initiative, which will help to make global promises on water a reality.” More about these announcements >
Meeting the target
More needs to be done. While progress towards the Millennium Development Goal target for water and sanitation has been made, the poorest countries are still well off target. And even if this target is met, a staggering number of people are still out of reach of safe water and sanitation. Find out more about the truth behind the statistics >
As part of the End Water Poverty coalition, we must ensure that the UK keeps up the momentum and pushes harder to make sure that world leaders take responsibility for dealing with the world water and sanitation crisis, as well as acting on food and nutrition.
We’ll be reporting back to you on UK government’s response to our campaign in more detail the coming weeks.
Watch the film of the Thirst for change sunrise solidarity walk and Downing Street hand-in >
