Tuesday 16 March 2010

East Africa Sanitation Conference

The Second East Africa Sanitation Conference, organized by ANEW − the African Civil Society Network on Water and Sanitation, was held in Kampala during 2−4 March (the East African countries involved are Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan North and South, Tanzania and Uganda).

The final point of the conference Declaration is disturbing: the conference participants noted their “shared concern regarding the inadequate commitment of AMCOW to sanitation and hygiene”. So why isn’t AMCOW – the African Ministers’ Council on Water – doing its bit for sanitation and hygiene? Well, you could argue that it’s doing something – there’s a whole section on sanitation at least in the Roadmap for the Implementation of the Sharm El-Sheikh Commitment (dated 13 November 2009), but ANEW doesn’t seem to think this is enough. We should be told all the details − and soon, as AfricaSan3 is going to be held next year.