Blog post originally written by Heloise Chicou, Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) CSO Advisor for the recent SWA e-bulletin available online.
It’s only half way through the year, and End Water Poverty (EWP) has certainly been busy lately! EWP’s Secretariat recently hosted two important international events, the Human Rights Roundtable, and EWP’s International Planning Meeting in April.
On 18 April, the Roundtable brought together a range of human rights experts from around the world to examine the interconnections between human rights areas by exploring the links between the human rights to water and sanitation, adequate housing and adequate food. The roundtable was a new opportunity of the coalition and provided a platform for stakeholders to share case studies and examine the tools civil society can use to improve monitoring and to hold governments accountable to their human rights commitment.
Following this event, from 19 to 21 April, the EWP secretariat hosted the annual EWP planning meeting. This meeting brought EWP Steering Committee representatives together with other supporters to collectively develop EWP’s overall campaign priorities and our future work plan. This was a fantastic space to review the year that was, and set the future direction of the coalition together with over 15 international civil society experts! With over 10 countries represented, End Water Poverty has now a globally representative work plan and priorities for the coming years.
The Planning Meeting’s collaborative process confirmed End Water Poverty’s main objective for the coming years. This will be to continue to campaign and advocate for the achievement of Agenda 2030, focusing on the prioritisation of Goal 6 on WASH. EWP’s work will be framed by the principles and standards of the human rights to water and sanitation. We will work to ensure these are integrated into Agenda 2030, and all will be delivered through our flagship campaign ‘Keep Your Promises’, holding governments accountable to their commitments.
EWP’s four priority areas over the next year will be to:
- Deliver a successful Water Action Month in March 2017.
- Provide support to our members, and national and regional networks.
- Continue supporting EWP’s Task Teams to achieve their work plan deliverables. These include 4 main work streams: Sustainable Development Goals, Water Action Month, Europe and capacity building initiatives.
- Effectively and efficiently manage and coordinate the coalition, ensuring a strong global civil society voice.
Full outcome reports from both events, along with the detailed work plan for EWP over the next two years, will be launched soon and all will be available on our website. Follow End Water Poverty on Twitter and Facebook for updates and news!
EWP is the host for the SWA Civil Society Advisor to help ensure civil society have a strong, united voice calling for change.