Heads of State, Government, and heads of United Nations agencies, international financial institutions, civil society, the private sector, research, and learning are mobilizing around a call for the prioritization of water, sanitation, and hygiene in response to COVID-19.
“Until there is a vaccine or treatment for COVID-19, there is no better cure than prevention.” This is highlighted in the statement issued on 14 May by SWA (Sanitation and Water for All), a global platform for achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, which aims to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water, sanitation, and hygiene for all.
The Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) which is now evolving into the Sanitation and Hygiene Fund (SHF) is joining forces with the signatories to underline the conviction that government-led, collaborative, and multi-stakeholder decision-making leads to more effective and sustainable solutions.
“Joining this vital and timely call, we are emphasizing the need for a scalable and global fund that can effectively tackle the sanitation and hygiene crisis with a transformative, long-term approach. We are urging world leaders to scale up investments in sanitation, hygiene, and menstrual health through the new SHF. Our goal is to provide low-income countries with the means needed to achieve sanitation and hygiene for all,” said Hind Khatib-Othman, Executive Chair of WSSCC.
The SWA statement emphasizes that water, sanitation, and hygiene, together with physical distancing, are central to preventing the spread of COVID-19, and the first line of defence against the serious threat to lives and health systems. Handwashing with water and soap kills the virus but requires access to running water in sufficient quantities.
Response plans – at national, regional, and global levels – must, therefore, prioritize water, sanitation, and hygiene services. COVID-19 is not the first and will not be the last epidemic that countries will face. Resilience to future crises depends on the measures taken now, as well as the policies, institutions, and capacities that are put in place in normal times, SWA added.
“Let us ensure that this threat is not a missed opportunity to realize our vision of universal access to water, sanitation, and hygiene,” concluded the signatories.
Contents of this article have been published as a press release by WSSCC.