| Issue 19. 15 November 2013 | www.un.org/waterforlifedecade |
| This week in focus | Editor’s note
Welcome to the Decade’s Weekly! Every week it brings you the latest news from the International Decade for Action ’Water for Life’ 2005-2015. Please feel free to forward this newsletter. You can also access this newsletter online. Tip of the week
Nearly 40% of the world’s population has no access to hygienic means of personal sanitation. >> Visit the web section dedicated to 'Access to sanitation' on the Decade’s website#ChangeThis
In the typhoon-battered Philippines, water, sanitation and hygiene services have been almost completely wiped out, with pipelines flooded and lack of electricity making water pumping and treatment impossible. |
| #Toilets4All World Toilet Day
Date: 19 November 2013 This international day of action aims to break the taboo around toilets and draw attention to the global sanitation challenge. Celebrated since 2001, the day has been recognized in 2013 by the United Nations General Assembly. Today, 2.5 of the world's seven billion people, mostly in rural areas, do not have proper sanitation and 1.1 billion people still defecate in the open. This has significant impacts on human health, dignity and security, the environment, and social and economic development. The countries where open defecation is most widely practiced are the same countries with the highest mortality rate of children under five, high levels of undernutrition and poverty, and large wealth disparities. You can participate by attending one of the many official World Toilet Day (WTD) events taking place worldwide or through the virtual social media campaign to highlight the plight of the 2.5 billion people without access to a clean, private toilet. "Each year, more than 800,000 children under five die needlessly from diarrhoea − more than one child a minute. Countless others fall seriously ill, with many suffering long-term health and developmental consequences. Poor sanitation and hygiene are the primary cause. We must break the taboos and make sanitation for all a global development priority", declares Ban Ki-moon on his message for World Toilet Day. >> UN General Assembly Resolution proclaiming World Toilet Day >> UN Secretary-General’s Message for WTD >> More information on WTD on UN website >> Web section dedicated to WTD on UN-Water website >> More resources on The Sanitation Drive to 2015 website >> Access to a selection of UN publications on Sanitation >> World Toilet Day website |
| In the news | Forthcoming events |
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#Philippines
UN launches $301 million appeal for typhoon-ravaged Philippines
On 12 November, the United Nations appealed for nearly a third of a billion dollars to provide humanitarian assistance to typhoon hit regions of the Philippines where aid workers are labouring around the clock to get in urgently needed survival supplies, such as food, clean water, shelter and basic medicines. UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos launched the $301 million flash appeal from Manila, the capital, where she is surveying the damage by Typhoon Haiyan which ripped through nine regions in south-east Asia over the weekend. "The appeal of $301 million covers an initial period of six months," said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) spokesperson, Jens Laerke, in Geneva. From the Decade’s programmes
#WaterCooperation
Launch of ’Water Cooperation 2013: United Nations Contributions and Key Experiences’
Date: 19 November 2013 Time: 13:00
On the occasion of World Toilet Day, UNW-DPAC, together with the World Council of Civil Engineers and Aquae Foundation, will launch the monograph "Water Cooperation 2013: United Nations Contributions and Key Experiences".
Date: 20-21 November 2013 ONGAWA is organizing this seminar around two sessions: • On Wednesday 20 November, session "Public-Private Partnerships in the field of universal access to water and sanitation in rural areas" • On Thursday 21 November, session "Right to Water and Sanitation and Sustainable Development Goals Post-2015" 
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#Statistics
Expert Group Meeting on the Guidelines for the Compilation of Water Accounts and Statistics
Date: 20-22 November 2013 Experts in environmental-economic accounts for water and water statistics from countries and international/regional organizations will meet to review and discuss the guidelines for the compilation of water accounts and statistics. The guidelines will provide country experts and trainers with a comprehensive and reliable set of materials for assisting the staff of national statistics offices, water ministries, and agencies and other stakeholders in countries, with the process of implementation of water accounts and statistics for developing a monitoring system for water policies.
Date: 25-27 November 2013
The Open Working Group (OWG) of the General Assembly is tasked with preparing a proposal on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 5th session will address issues related to sustained and inclusive economic growth, macroeconomic policy questions (including international trade, international financial system and external debt sustainability), infrastructure development and industrialization. Various side-events will address water issues.
Date: 27-29 November 2013
This Congress will bring together utilities, water operators practitioners, donors, knowledge institutions and interested stakeholders to exchange experience, advance knowledge and initiate action on Water Operators’ Partnerships. On the third day of the Congress, the Global Water Operators’ Partnerships Alliance General Assembly will be held. |
aims at opening a space for sharing knowledge and experiences on the remaining challenges on water and sanitation in rural areas. The session will consider inclusive partnerships as an innovative strategy to multiply the impacts from a human rights and effectiveness approach.- ONGAWA, Engineering for human development
ONGAWA is holding the seminar "Human Right to Water and Sanitation" on 20-21 November 2013 in Madrid, Spain. This seminar has joined the Water for Life Decade campaign and the Decade's logo is included in the program. More information on this seminar is included in the "From the Decade’s Programmes" section of this newsletter.
>>Contact
- Water Cooperation through augmenting groundwater resources
The Institute of Sustainable Development (ISD), India, has prioritized water, sanitation and climate change issues for its first decade of action. Most of its community initiatives fall under Water and Local Governance, Water and Livelihood, and Water and Health. As part of the International Year of Water Cooperation, ISD is promoting groundwater re-charging with the initiative "Water Cooperation through augmenting groundwater resources". This initiative has joined the Water for Life Decade’s campaign and the Decade’s logo will be used to promote it.
>>Contact
- M.G.S. Panserraikos, Greece
M.G.S. Panserraikos is the oldest athletic club in the city of Serres, located in northern Greece. Its mission is to promote mass sports, in the context of sportsmanship, accessibility and teamwork building. On the occasion of its 50th anniversary, M.G.S. Panserraikos is planning to undertake a cross-sport campaign for the promotion of the "Water for Life" Decade in order to raise awareness of the objectives of this International Decade for Action. The logo will be used in informative activities which will be targeted at children’s football academies and water sports.
>>Contact