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GENEVA, 30 August 2022 - The United Nations-hosted Sanitation and Water for All partnership (SWA) today launched an international campaign which calls for just and equitable delivery of water and sanitation services.
Worldwide, 2.2 billion people still lack access to safe drinking water. More than half of the global population lacks safe sanitation.
The #JusticeBeginsHere campaign invites individuals and organizations from all sectors to tackle the structural inequalities which hinder the delivery of water and sanitation services.
Water scarcity as well as floods are driving thousands of climate refugees from their homes each year. Forty per cent of the global population is highly vulnerable to the impact of climate change.
Women and girls are disproportionately affected, spending an estimated 200 million hours each day collecting water. Additionally, nearly half the world’s schools lack access to handwashing facilities and adequate bathrooms, which lead to lower attendance rates among girls and reduced career opportunities.
The lack of services is also spurring the spread of infectious disease, which costs the global economy billions of dollars each year due to medical costs and lost workdays.
These costs reinforce inequalities and pose major barriers to social and economic potential.
“Around the world, activists are championing women’s equality, campaigning for quality healthcare and tackling implicit racism and discrimination in our communities. Yet, we will never achieve these goals so long as people lack access to the basic human rights of water and sanitation,” said Catarina de Albuquerque, SWA CEO.
The #JusticeBeginsHere campaign increases awareness of the social injustices caused by lack of access to water and sanitation and mobilizes individuals and organizations to action.
Campaign toolkits in French, English and Spanish are available at justicebegins.org. Customizable assets allow organizations to add their own branding and messaging in order to encourage participation.
“This is not just a campaign for water and sanitation activists,” de Albuquerque said. “This is a campaign for anyone who cares about social justice and sustainable development. It’s time we worked together to ensure equal opportunity and prosperity for all.”
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ABOUT SANITATION AND WATER FOR ALL
Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) is a multi-stakeholder partnership of governments and their partners from civil society, the private sector, UN agencies, research and learning institutions and the philanthropic community. Together, SWA partners stimulate high-level political dialogue - at the country, regional and global levels - and coordinate and monitor progress toward the sanitation, water and hygiene-related targets of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. For more information visit www.sanitationandwaterforall.org.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Alexandra Reis
Head of Communications
Sanitation and Water for All (SWA)
Alexandra.reis@sanitationandwaterforall.org