Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) Ministerial Meeting, 15th-17th March

Mon, 03/14/2016 - 14:22

Government ministers responsible for water, sanitation and hygiene, as well as other experts and stakeholders, will meet in Ethiopia this week to plan and prepare for the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 6

This meeting is organised by the Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) partnership, alongside UNICEF. It will be chaired by the former Prime Minister of Australia and Chair of SWA, Kevin Rudd. Ethiopia was chosen as the host country because of its innovative approach to achieving universal access to water and sanitation through its One WASH National Programme (OWNP), launched in September 2013.

The SWA Ministerial Meeting is a fantastic opportunity for high-level policy makers to identify the major roadblocks to achieving SDG6 and to begin to plan the long-term strategies and milestones that will broaden access to sanitation and safe water. The three day conference will consist of both a Ministerial Meeting and Technical Meeting, and will promote discussion about planning and resources and the best process for engaging colleagues in finance and planning ministries. 

Ensuring that domestic resources are made available for WASH budgets will be a key factor for the successful achievement of the SDGs in general, not just SDG6. We therefore wish the attendees the best of luck and look forward to hearing how public finance is included in the discussions!

For more information, see UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson's comments on the Ministerial Meeting:

Or read more about about the Ministerial Meeting's agenda in more detail here.