Launching and Strengthening Parliamentary Water Caucuses
Parliamentary Water Caucuses Partnership
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Partnership
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#SDGAction50716
Description
If we are to significantly accelerate progress toward global water security in the tight timeframe required by the SDGs, we need to start acting differently. In the water sector, our belief is that the role of national and subnational elected political leaders across the globe is under-recognized and under-appreciated.
Our commitment, “Launching and Strengthening Parliamentary Water Caucuses,” is to do just that: to launch and strengthen informal associations of Members of Parliament focused on water security and sanitation in their countries. In as many countries as possible, the Members of these Caucuses will pursue a common legislative agenda in their parliaments: accelerated progress on water security, sanitation, and hygiene in their country. A Parliamentary Water Caucus typically undertakes activities in Parliament designed to promote access to safe, affordable, and sustainable water, including the consideration of new laws, stronger regulatory environments, and increased funding (from both domestic and international sources).
Water Caucuses are intended to educate and inform members of Parliament regarding the positive impact they can have on their country’s WASH coverage. Caucuses also empower those legislators to collaborate with each other and their constituents to prioritize water investments that will make families, communities, and their nation healthier and stronger, and make important contributions to peace and security within and across borders.
A Parliamentary Water Caucus is not an island. Caucus Members often work hand in hand with allies in civil society and the relevant technical ministries in their country. This working relationship has been referred to as a three-legged stool, including the Members of Parliament, civil society leaders, and the technical ministries who stand to benefit from the success of the Caucuses. Key stakeholders can also include the media, the private sector, associations, and many others.
The most important impact of Parliamentary Water Caucuses is to clarify the linkage between SDG6 (water) and SDG16 (peace, justice, and strong institutions). Strong governance, including Parliamentary Water Caucuses, will increase water access. Increased water access will prove to citizens, voters, taxpayers that a government is holding up its end of the bargain. The social contract is a two-way street between people and their government, and water security is a fundamental, demand-responsive component of that social contract.
More tangibly, the key impact of a successful Parliamentary Water Caucus over the medium- to long-term will be increased levels of safe, affordable, and sustained access to water security, sanitation, and hygiene for the citizens of that country. Intermediate outputs will be determined by each Water Caucus according to its country-specific priorities. Those outputs are expected to include new and stronger laws, tightened regulatory environments, increasingly open and transparent budgeting processes, increased budgets (prioritizing marginalized communities), and others.
Other impacts will likely include:
- The relevant ministries (WASH, health, education, public works) will benefit from increased budgets and stronger laws for WASH.
- Water will assume a more prominent role in dialogues with the international development and diplomatic communities, and with neighboring countries.
- Over the long-run, an increase in domestic resource mobilization is expected, with public financial support eventually replacing donor support.
The initial focus of legislative Water Caucuses will be primarily on a national level, country by country. However, efforts are underway (e.g. Nigeria, Pakistan, India) to launch such legislative caucuses at a provincial/state level as well.
Our commitment, “Launching and Strengthening Parliamentary Water Caucuses,” will count on partners from across the globe for its success.
First and foremost, our most important partners are Members of Parliament themselves, who are the ultimate decision-makers for the laws, policies, budgets and programs that will help to accelerate progress in the global water sector. However, Members of Parliament will need the support of other partners:
- Civil society leaders, organizations, and networks, with a particular focus on youth and gender
- Parliamentary staff and assistants
- The private sector
- Media
- The international donor community
In March 2023, Honorable Jacqueline Amongin published a helpful article in The Parliamentarian, the key publication of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. The article’s title is self-explanatory: "Water is (Good) Politics: The development of Parliamentary Water Caucuses on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) can bring vital attention to this vital global development goal."
The article is available here: https://issuu.com/theparliamentarian/docs/parl2023iss1finalonlinesingle…
Hon. Amongin is an elected Member of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) from Uganda. She worked for the Pan-African Movement, before being becoming a Member of Parliament in Uganda in 2011 representing the Ngora District. In 2013, she joined the Pan-African Parliament and was re-elected in 2016. In 2018, she was awarded a Mandela Leadership Prize for ‘promoting good governance and development in Africa.’
The article describes the launch and the ongoing progress of the Uganda Parliamentary Forum on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene: https://www.parliament.go.ug/page/uganda-parliamentary-forum-watersanit…
Following in Uganda’s footsteps, the Liberian Parliament has recently announced the launch of their WASH Legislative Caucus: https://www.shout-africa.com/health-lifestyle/liberia-wash-legislative-…
Two donor countries also have Parliamentary Water Caucuses. The USA has its Congressional Global Water Security Caucus (https://www.legistorm.com/organization/summary/163380/International_Wat…) and the UK has its All-Party Parliamentary Group on Water and Sanitation (https://www.parallelparliament.co.uk/APPG/water-sanitation-and-hygiene).
SDGS & Targets
Goal 2
End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
2.1
By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round
2.1.1
Prevalence of undernourishment
2.1.2
Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population, based on the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES)
2.2
By 2030, end all forms of malnutrition, including achieving, by 2025, the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under 5 years of age, and address the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women and older persons
2.2.1
Prevalence of stunting (height for age <-2 standard deviation from the median of the World Health Organization (WHO) Child Growth Standards) among children under 5 years of age
2.2.2
Prevalence of malnutrition (weight for height >+2 or <-2 standard deviation from the median of the WHO Child Growth Standards) among children under 5 years of age, by type (wasting and overweight)
2.2.3
Prevalence of anaemia in women aged 15 to 49 years, by pregnancy status (percentage)
2.3
2.3.1
Volume of production per labour unit by classes of farming/pastoral/forestry enterprise size
2.3.2
Average income of small-scale food producers, by sex and indigenous status
2.4
By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality
2.4.1
Proportion of agricultural area under productive and sustainable agriculture
2.5
By 2020, maintain the genetic diversity of seeds, cultivated plants and farmed and domesticated animals and their related wild species, including through soundly managed and diversified seed and plant banks at the national, regional and international levels, and promote access to and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge, as internationally agreed
2.5.1
Number of (a) plant and (b) animal genetic resources for food and agriculture secured in either medium- or long-term conservation facilities
2.5.2
Proportion of local breeds classified as being at risk of extinction
2.a
2.a.1
The agriculture orientation index for government expenditures
2.a.2
Total official flows (official development assistance plus other official flows) to the agriculture sector
2.b
Correct and prevent trade restrictions and distortions in world agricultural markets, including through the parallel elimination of all forms of agricultural export subsidies and all export measures with equivalent effect, in accordance with the mandate of the Doha Development Round
2.b.1
Agricultural export subsidies
2.c
Adopt measures to ensure the proper functioning of food commodity markets and their derivatives and facilitate timely access to market information, including on food reserves, in order to help limit extreme food price volatility
2.c.1
Indicator of food price anomalies
Goal 3
Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
3.1
3.1.1
Maternal mortality ratio
3.1.2
Proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel
3.2
3.2.1
Under-five mortality rate
3.2.2
Neonatal mortality rate
3.3
By 2030, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases and other communicable diseases
3.3.1
Number of new HIV infections per 1,000 uninfected population, by sex, age and key populations
3.3.2
Tuberculosis incidence per 100,000 population
3.3.3
Malaria incidence per 1,000 population
3.3.4
Hepatitis B incidence per 100,000 population
3.3.5
Number of people requiring interventions against neglected tropical diseases
3.4
3.4.1
Mortality rate attributed to cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes or chronic respiratory disease
3.4.2
Suicide mortality rate
3.5
Strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol
3.5.1
Coverage of treatment interventions (pharmacological, psychosocial and rehabilitation and aftercare services) for substance use disorders
3.5.2
Alcohol per capita consumption (aged 15 years and older) within a calendar year in litres of pure alcohol
3.6
3.6.1
Death rate due to road traffic injuries
3.7
By 2030, ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, including for family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programmes
3.7.1
Proportion of women of reproductive age (aged 15-49 years) who have their need for family planning satisfied with modern methods
3.7.2
Adolescent birth rate (aged 10-14 years; aged 15-19 years) per 1,000 women in that age group
3.8
Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all
3.8.1
Coverage of essential health services
3.8.2
Proportion of population with large household expenditures on health as a share of total household expenditure or income
3.9
3.9.1
Mortality rate attributed to household and ambient air pollution
3.9.2
Mortality rate attributed to unsafe water, unsafe sanitation and lack of hygiene (exposure to unsafe Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for All (WASH) services)
3.9.3
Mortality rate attributed to unintentional poisoning
3.a
3.a.1
Age-standardized prevalence of current tobacco use among persons aged 15 years and older
3.b
Support the research and development of vaccines and medicines for the communicable and non-communicable diseases that primarily affect developing countries, provide access to affordable essential medicines and vaccines, in accordance with the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health, which affirms the right of developing countries to use to the full the provisions in the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights regarding flexibilities to protect public health, and, in particular, provide access to medicines for all
3.b.1
Proportion of the target population covered by all vaccines included in their national programme
3.b.2
3.b.3
Proportion of health facilities that have a core set of relevant essential medicines available and affordable on a sustainable basis
3.c
3.c.1
Health worker density and distribution
3.d
Strengthen the capacity of all countries, in particular developing countries, for early warning, risk reduction and management of national and global health risks
3.d.1
International Health Regulations (IHR) capacity and health emergency preparedness
3.d.2
Percentage of bloodstream infections due to selected antimicrobial-resistant organisms
Goal 6
Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
6.1
By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all
6.1.1
Proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services
6.2
By 2030, achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations
6.2.1
Proportion of population using (a) safely managed sanitation services and (b) a hand-washing facility with soap and water
6.3
By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally
6.3.1
Proportion of domestic and industrial wastewater flows safely treated
6.3.2
Proportion of bodies of water with good ambient water quality
6.4
6.4.1
Change in water-use efficiency over time
6.4.2
Level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of available freshwater resources
6.5
By 2030, implement integrated water resources management at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation as appropriate
6.5.1
Degree of integrated water resources management
6.5.2
Proportion of transboundary basin area with an operational arrangement for water cooperation
6.6
6.6.1
Change in the extent of water-related ecosystems over time
6.a
6.a.1
Amount of water- and sanitation-related official development assistance that is part of a government-coordinated spending plan
6.b
Support and strengthen the participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management
6.b.1
Proportion of local administrative units with established and operational policies and procedures for participation of local communities in water and sanitation management
Goal 16
Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
16.1
Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere
16.1.1
16.1.2
16.1.3
Proportion of population subjected to (a) physical violence, (b) psychological violence and (c) sexual violence in the previous 12 months
16.1.4
Proportion of population that feel safe walking alone around the area they live after dark
16.2
End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children
16.2.1
Proportion of children aged 1–17 years who experienced any physical punishment and/or psychological aggression by caregivers in the past month
16.2.2
16.2.3
Proportion of young women and men aged 18–29 years who experienced sexual violence by age 18
16.3
Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all
16.3.1
16.3.2
16.3.3
Proportion of the population who have experienced a dispute in the past two years and who accessed a formal or informal dispute resolution mechanism, by type of mechanism
16.4
By 2030, significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows, strengthen the recovery and return of stolen assets and combat all forms of organized crime
16.4.1
16.4.2
16.5
Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms
16.5.1
16.5.2
16.6
Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels
16.6.1
16.6.2
Proportion of population satisfied with their last experience of public services
16.7
Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels
16.7.1
Proportions of positions in national and local institutions, including (a) the legislatures; (b) the public service; and (c) the judiciary, compared to national distributions, by sex, age, persons with disabilities and population groups
16.7.2
16.8
Broaden and strengthen the participation of developing countries in the institutions of global governance
16.8.1
Proportion of members and voting rights of developing countries in international organizations
16.9
By 2030, provide legal identity for all, including birth registration
16.9.1
16.10
Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements
16.10.1
16.10.2
16.a
Strengthen relevant national institutions, including through international cooperation, for building capacity at all levels, in particular in developing countries, to prevent violence and combat terrorism and crime
16.a.1
16.b
Promote and enforce non-discriminatory laws and policies for sustainable development
16.b.1
SDG 14 targets covered
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Deliverables & Timeline
Resources mobilized
Partnership Progress
Feedback
Action Network
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Timeline
Entity
Region
- Global
Other beneficiaries
If the work of a Parliamentary Water Caucus is successful in a given country, the key beneficiaries of its work will be the people of that country, who will see increased, sustained, equitable, and affordable access to water security, sanitation, and hygiene in their communities. The relevant ministries (WASH, health, education, public works) will likely also benefit from increased budgets and stronger laws for WASH. Lastly, tying this into SDG16, the social contract (the two-way street between a people and their government) will be strengthened as people understand the value they get for their taxes. Increased access to water security can help pave that two-way street, making possible a more participatory governance, and a more peaceful society.
Countries
Contact Information
John, CEO
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