Getting the balance right - RC report

Getting the balance right

A Red Cross Red Crescent call to address the imbalance between sanitation and water

This report is a step in a multi-year advocacy strategy to key stakeholder in order of getting the balance right between sanitation and water and to keep it on top of not only Red Cross Red Crescent health agenda but also of other key stakeholders.

The report has several asks:

• IFRC calls on governments, donors, and communities to get the balance right between action on sanitation and on water.
• Sanitation activities should be at least as well funded as water supply, and we believe this balance in funding can be achieved by 2015 so that the next global push for universal access to water and sanitation will focus equally on both aspects.
• Communities in rural areas and urban settlements must be empowered to increase their resilience through access to safe water, improved sanitation and effective hygiene promotion.
• No one government, donor or community can do this alone, so strategic partnerships must be established and nurtured.
• As auxiliaries to their governments, national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies must bridge the gap between government and communities.

Launch of the report is at the World Water week 2012 in Stockholm, Sweden.