Dec. 4, 2002 -- A new EU water initiative will create action programs to halve the number of people with no access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation by 2015 and develop integrated water resources management and efficiency plans by 2005.
The initiative involves a partnership between the EU, Africa and 12 countries from Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and central Asia. It aims to provide a catalyst on which future action to implement the World Summit goals can be built. It aims to create a higher efficiency of water-related development by providing a platform to co-ordinate and streamline existing and future activities.
Under the initiative, the EU will work with its partners to reinforce political commitment to action and raise the profile of water and sanitation with view to poverty reduction, promote better water governance, improve coordination and cooperation promoting sector wide approaches, develop regional and sub-regional cooperation, develop additional and innovative funding mechanisms and catalyze additional funding.
The EU, being the largest donor in the field of water with an average 1.4 billion euro per year, will serve as a major driving force to meet the Millennium development goals relating to water. The EU is ready to increase and deliver these resources over the following years within the context of countries' efforts to reduce poverty in the framework of sustainable development.
Source: European Commission
