Bad WASH Issues in the Pacific

Water and Sanitation Are Key Challenges Facing the Pacific Island Region Says Unicef

Water and sanitation are among the key challenges facing the Pacific Island region and will be a focus for discussion at the upcoming Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in Samoa, 1‒4 September.

According to Mike Petterson, Director of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community's (SPC) Applied Geoscience and Technology Division, all Pacific SIDS have made some progress in water and sanitation but not enough.

UNICEF Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Specialist, Marc Overmars, said the MDGs aim to halve the proportion of people without access to basic sanitation and safe drinking water by 2015. ‘The data we've collected with WHO suggest that for the Pacific as a whole, progress towards these targets has been poor compared to neighbouring regions and the world,' he said.

The challenge for Pacific SIDS becomes even more difficult when considering the proposed post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which call for universal access to safe water and sanitation by 2030. Rhonda Robinson, Deputy Director of SPC's Water and Sanitation Programme, is concerned at the size of the challenge. ‘Meeting these goals will require a quantum shift in energy and resources, particularly in the light of projected increases in population during the target period,' she said.

Ms Robinson says increased support is required to better equip small communities and households to establish, operate and maintain appropriate facilities, while also maintaining safe drinking water and hygiene practices in homes and schools.

To facilitate progress towards safe and sustainable water and sanitation, SPC has registered three existing and two proposed partnerships for consideration at the SIDS Conference.

Source: SPC

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