UN-HABITAT launches Water and Sanitation Trust Fund

Nairobi/Brussels, 7 October 2002: On the occasion of World Habitat Day, Mrs. Anna Tibaijuka, Under-Secretary-General of the UN and the Executive Director of UN-HABITAT launched a Water and Sanitation Trust Fund dedicated to meeting the specific target of halving, by the year 2015, the proportion of people who do not have access to basic sanitation or clean water. This goal was set by world leaders at the recently concluded World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD).

"The aim of the trust fund, which has an initial investment of 1 million dollars, is to kick start a plan of action to meet the targets set in the Millennium Development Goals, and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, concerned with water and sanitation," said Mrs. Tibaijuka. "Improving sanitation and providing clean water are critical if the lives of the urban poor are to be improved. Access to such life saving basic needs is an important first step in the process of slum upgrading."

The number of urban dwellers not receiving safe water has reached an all time high of 118 million in 2000, an increase of 62 million over the comparable figure in 1990. The situation with sanitation is much worse, with more than three times as many people denied even minimal sanitation facilities.

Over the last few years, UN-HABITAT has been at the forefront of working on water demand management. In many African cities up to 50% of the water is often wasted through leakages or unaccounted for. What is worse is that, contrary to popular belief, the poor often pay up to 20 times as much as the rich for this precious resource. Confronted with such problems, UN-HABITAT's Water for African Cities Programme began work with 8 city authorities in order to stop the wastage of water. Over the past few years, the reduction in water loss and the rationalization of the process of payment has paved the way for strategies to provide the urban poor with access to affordable piped water.

The success of the Water for African Cities programme is such that Senator Tim Wirth, the President of the UN-Foundation, which is funded by the Turner Foundation, recently stated that out of the $400 million of grants and loans made by the Foundation, the Water for African Cities proved to be their most successful and cost effective project. Based on the achievements of the Water for African Cities programme, at WSSD, the Asian Development Bank, (ADB) and the Government of Netherlands committed $8 million in grant aid to UN-HABITAT's Programme on Water for Asian Cities. The ADB also announced a $500 million fast track credit line to help cities that are part of the Programme.

It is against this background that UN-HABITAT recently upgraded its Water, Sanitation and Infrastructure section to a full branch with additional staff and resources. The United Nations Housing and Human Settlements Fund has also advanced $1 million as seed financing to start up the Water and Sanitation Trust Fund, which will be set up as a Technical Cooperation Trust Fund under the delegated authority of the Executive Director of UN-HABITAT. To ensure synergy and complementarity, it is hoped that the Trust Fund will operate in close conjunction with international and national development finance institutions and other similar initiatives that were recently launched during WSSD. The mobilization of matching local resources will be a guiding criterion in the approval process. The Fund is expected to be operational by 1 January 2003.

"The Trust Fund that we have established is but a small beginning. It is meant to start the ball rolling so that we can meet the challenge set by world leaders," said Mrs. Tibaijuka. "I therefore call upon all donors, multi-lateral and bi-lateral funding agencies to contribute to the capitalisation of this fund. Let us provide the necessary capital for action so that we can make a real difference in the lives of the urban poor."