Speech by the Prince of Orange, Chair of UNSGAB

Addressing the Global Water and Sanitation Challenge: The Key to the MDGs

Excellencies, colleagues, friends,

I am deeply honored to moderate this distinguished group of panelists. For all of us here, it is indeed a singular opportunity to hear directly from those who have the final say on their countries' national policy. Definitely not an easy job!

We are all here today to learn more about extending water and sanitation services. Rapid progress is possible if countries prioritize and plan for sanitation and water coverage. And by linking water management to national planning, budgeting and priority setting, countries can better achieve their development priorities and all the MDGs. Above all, we know that strong national commitment along with a robust policy framework are essential. Given the importance of national commitment, we look forward to gaining invaluable insights into the complexities of the national policy dynamic from our panelists, who are at the very highest levels. You have to make crucial decisions among competing priorities on a daily basis. I would like to thank all of you for taking the time today to share your experience and to demonstrate your support for sanitation and water.

I have been emphasizing national commitment. We have seen nations make a strong commitment in this Summit's outcome document. All member states - that means all of us in this room - agreed to support the "sustainable sanitation - five year drive to 2015." This Drive is an urgent call to action for an intensive push towards achieving the MDG sanitation target, which our panelist, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in her New York Times Op Ed last week so eloquently described as the "orphan development goal".

The Board which I Chair, is fully behind the Five Year Drive. We will contribute all of our influence to help put basic sanitation at the center of the international development agenda, by consistently and clearly repeating the facts about how basic sanitation underlies all the MDGs. Facts like: 443 million schools days are lost each year due to water and sanitation-related diseases; Diarrhoea kills an estimated 4,000 children every day, and every $1 invested in sanitation, generates an economic return of up to $9. We urge all countries to join us to make the "sustainable sanitation - five year drive to 2015" an international effort and a global success.

But, at the end of the day, without strong national commitment, investment, and donor support for water and sanitation we have no hope of meeting our development objectives.