A new joint initiative from the UK and the Netherlands will allocate €6 million (US$ 8.5 million) over five years to an annual report and high level meeting focused on reviewing progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on water and sanitation. The first of these meetings will be held in 2009 and convened by UNICEF. The initiative was launched on 24 September 2008 at the United Nations High-level Event on the Millennium Development Goals in New York. A further joint Dutch-UK commitment was made of €100 million (US$ 141 million) over the same period to help up to 20 countries develop and implement national water and sanitation plans.

At the same time, the UN-Water launched the Global Annual Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water (GLAAS) [1]. GLAAS is a UN-Water pilot initiative led by the World Health Organization (WHO), which provides a new approach to reporting on progress in the sanitation and drinking-water sectors. It concentrates on the factors affecting the capacity of countries and external support agencies to progress towards the sanitation and drinking-water MDG target.

[1] WHO and UN-Water (2008). UN-Water global annual assessment of sanitation and drinking-water : 2008 pilot report - testing a new reporting approach. Geneva, Switzerland, World Health Organization. 58 p. ISBN 978-92-4-159716-6. Download here

Related web sites: UN-Water ; Water Monitoring Alliance

Related news: Monitoring: staggering number of people without improved sanitation facilities, says new report, Source Weekly, 24 Jul 2008

Contact: DFID, enquiry@dfid.gov.uk ; Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, contact form

Source: DFID, 25 Sep 2008 ; Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 25 Sep 2008

Tags: financing, monitoring & evaluation, sanitation, water supply