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Preet Kaur Gill
Main Page: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)Department Debates - View all Preet Kaur Gill's debates with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
(1 year, 10 months ago)
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Preet Kaur Gill (Birmingham, Edgbaston) (Lab/Co-op)
We have now passed the halfway mark to the 2030 deadline for meeting the sustainable development goals that we and 192 UN countries signed up to. On our current trajectory, however, we are set to miss every single one. Does the Minister agree that WASH is a cornerstone of the global goals and, to meet his targets on girls’ education and ending preventable deaths, schools and hospitals need clean water and sanitation? Will he restore the official development assistance for WASH, which has dropped by two thirds, as part of the women and girls strategy?
Mr Mitchell
The hon. Lady makes an extremely important point. Since the programmes were renewed in 2015, 63 million people in the poorest countries now have access to clean water and a lavatory, thanks to the UK taxpayer. Specifically, support for the Sanitation and Water for All partnership, which promotes access to sustainable water resources, is a high priority for the Government.