June 29, 2012
WaterAid publishes Water Security Framework
WaterAid's new Water Security Framework sets out fundamental priorities for improving community-level
water security as part of an integrated water supply, sanitation and
hygiene approach. Each day many millions of women and children struggle to provide
their families with sufficient clean drinking water for their daily
needs.
Even when water is supplied near to people's homes, it may be intermittent, poor quality or unaffordable.
Millions of families living in rural and urban settings in developing
countries lack the security of a safe, sufficient, reliable and
affordable water supply. This insecurity is a major obstacle to poor
people's attempts to escape from poverty.
The framework's objectives include:
- Extending improved water supply services, ensuring sufficient quantities are available to meet health and livelihood needs
- Sustaining improved water supply services
- Reducing collection times and the burden of water collection
- Protecting and improving water quality through improved hygiene and
sanitation, source protection, safe handling, storage and treatment.
- Increasing water storage capacity
- Strengthening the monitoring of water availability, water demand and water quality
- Facilitating community-level risk assessment and risk-based planning
- Facilitating the formation of community-level operating principles
for coordination of equitable access and water use as well as protection
of water resources
- Strengthening the voice of poor communities to call for assistance from responsible authorities when access is threatened
The framework outlines WaterAid's focus on water for basic human needs (drinking, cooking, bathing, sanitation, hygiene and health) and
positions these together with broader water needs for livelihoods,
environment and food security.
It describes the daily hardships experienced by millions of people
who lack access to improved water supplies, citing weak political will,
social and political exclusion, increasing demand for water resources,
climate variability and climate change as major causes of water
insecurity.
In addition, it emphasizes the need for integrated water resource management plans and policies to take realities on the ground into account to ensure they best meet the needs of poor water users.
For further information or interviews, please contact: Susannah Gold, WaterAid, on + 1 917 207 5375 or
sgold@wateraidamerica.org