Water and Sanitation

Debate between Naomi Long and Fiona O'Donnell

Wednesday 21st March 2012 Westminster Hall

[Naomi Long]

The hon. Gentleman is quite right. Water security and the cost of water in many developing countries limits crop production, because people cannot afford to irrigate their crops. Countries that are able to develop irrigation systems have more productive fields and are able to produce more food to feed their people. It is a hugely important issue.

Members have asked me to be positive about what the UK Government are doing, and of course I will be where appropriate. The UK Government have taken a lead on development policy, and I commend them on that. In 2006, DFID expanded its list of basic public services to include water and sanitation, and the UK and Dutch Governments announced their support for a global framework for action at the UN in September 2008. The UK Government played a key role in the development of that global partnership, and “Sanitation and Water for All: A Global Framework for Action”, was formally launched in 2010, with a high-level meeting that was linked to the World Bank spring meeting in Washington. The timing allowed Finance Ministers and those with responsibility for the delivery of water and sanitation to attend. The second high-level meeting will be in Washington next month, and through the Minister I wish to thank the Secretary of State for indicating to me and to other right hon. and hon. Members who wrote to him, that it is his intention to attend.

I also thank the Secretary of State for his pledge to continue providing support and guidance to the Sanitation and Water for All partnership. As yet, however, although 35 developing nations have indicated that they will attend, only seven donor countries have done likewise, and I urge the Government to use whatever influence they have to encourage other developed nations to engage with that key forum. I would also be grateful if the Minister outlined how the Government intend to make manifest that pledge of continued support in the coming months and years.

As I understand, DFID is close to announcing its portfolio review of water and sanitation projects, which seeks to identify where more can be done. I await eagerly the publication of that report, and perhaps the Minister will confirm when that will take place.

[Fiona O'Donnell (East Lothian) (Lab)]

I congratulate the hon. Lady on securing this debate. Does she agree that the Rio+20 summit is an opportunity to link millennium development goals with sustainable development goals?

[Naomi Long]

Absolutely, and it is hugely important to plan how we can streamline all those efforts. It is hard to have sustainable development unless you have access to clean water and sanitation.

Given that more than 35% of UK official development assistance is now spent through multilateral agencies such as the World Bank, I hope that DFID’s review will have assessed thoroughly the performance of such agencies in delivering progress in the sector, and considered how the UK can influence agencies to deliver increased commitments on WASH. I hope that it will also address the lack of political priority given to investment in water and sanitation when compared with other aid portfolios such as health and education. Without access to WASH, any progress achieved in other areas is significantly constrained.

One practical measure that would maximise the impact of overseas development aid, would be to integrate WASH into other connected health, education and nutrition programmes. In 2006, the International Development Committee recommended that sanitation become an integral part of the work of health advisors. I would be grateful if the Minister indicated what progress has been made on that.

In conclusion, I urge the Department for International Development to build on its activities to date, to be even more ambitious in its future goals, and to use its influence internationally to press others to do the same ahead of the Sanitation and Water for All high-level meeting in Washington DC next month.