Senegal
STATEMENT
OF H.E. DR. MAMADOU LAMINE BA,
MINISTER FOR PREVENTION, PUBLIC HYGIENE
AND SANITATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF SENEGAL
AT THE PREPARATORY MEETING
FOR THE 13TH SESSION OF THE COMMISSION
ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
New York, 28. February 2005
(Check against delivery)
MISSION PERMANENTE DU SENEGAL
aupres des Nations Unies
238 East 68th Street
New York, N .Y 10021
Tel : (212) 517-9030
Fax : (212) 517-3032
Mr. Chairman,
Mr. Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs,
Honourable Ministers,
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have great pleasure to represent my Government, the Republic of Senegal
and to address this eminent body for the first time to report on the first
<hosted and organised jointly by the Government of the Republic of Senegal
and the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC), in
Dakar from 29 November to 3 December 2004 .
Attended by over 500 participants from 75 countries including
representatives of Governments, 35 ministers, non-governmental
organizations, UN agencies, academic, research and training institutions,
the private sector and other members of civil society, the Global WASH
Forum produced three successful outcomes as contributions to CSD-13 : the
<. the <> and the
<(MDGs) on water and sanitation .
These concrete and practical results drew on real, meaningful actions that
have taken place at country level in many parts of the world. They are
based on the work of thousands of stakeholders that share one common
goal : to cut down the unacceptably high numbers of deaths and diseases
that still plague many developing countries, especially the poorest of the
poor, in both urban and rural areas . These unserved populations continue
to live in abject poverty and are denied their health and human dignity, due
to the lack of basic sanitation, hygiene and safe water . Without an
integrated approach of these three elements there will be no impact and all
efforts for the MDGs will be in vain, since the fight against poverty starts
with the fight against the above-mentioned scourges
Why am I convinced that I should promote now this cause at this
Preparatory Meeting for CSD-13? To carry the messages from the WASH
Forum and those of H.E. President Abdoulaye Wade, who issued a special
declaration expressing his strong commitment and genuine resolve to
implement the Johannesburg Plan of Action, by putting sanitation and
hygiene at the centre of the sustainable development agenda . For, without
this integrated approach of linking the three crucial elements of water,
sanitation and hygiene (WASH), the world will continue to witness the
`silent emergency' of some 6,000 children dying every day, because we have
turned a blind eye to this reality, or may be because of our carelessness or
even our unconsciousness .
1
2
Soon after the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, H.E.
President Wade was the first Head of State to show his commitment by
establishing a new Ministry for Prevention, Public Hygiene and Sanitation,
which I have the daunting and exciting privilege to lead . I am in charge of
implementing the vision of President Wade, according to which the MDGs
are achievable through national subsidies and assistance from external
donors. In this regard, actions must be taken at the local, national and
regional levels
For example, the African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW) has
recently taken on <countries. I have just returned from a successful AFRICASAN conference
in Ouagadougou which was sponsored by the Water and Sanitation
Program of the World Bank (WSP), the WSSCC and other partners .
In South Asia as well, a similar initiative called << South Asian Ministers
Conference on Sanitation (SACOSAN) >>, was first held in Bangladesh in
2003 and will be followed by a major conference this November called
SACOSAN 2005 to be hosted by the Government of Pakistan. These
regional efforts should be supported and encouraged for knowledge
exchange, information-sharing and capacity building through cooperation
between Africa and Asia, between Latin America and Africa. All these
initiatives could obviously not succeed if we do not enjoy the support of
developed Countries and other development partners .
Mr. Chairman,
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me also remind this august assembly that one of the agreed action plans
in Johannesburg was to integrate sanitation in Integrated Resources
Management (1WRM). Without the promotion of sanitation in river basins
and in catchment areas, water quality can not be conserved. High priority
must also be given to wastewater recycling issues and the technology must
be made available to developing countries at low cost in order to make it
affordable. I am happy to announce that in Senegal we decided to launch a
wastewater network with the assistance of WASH and under the
coordination of WSSCC . We intend, by 2010, to set up, in all secondary
towns, a sanitation network as well as waste water recycling and lagoonage
stations for the re-use of processed water in agriculture and construction .
Rural sanitation will also be dealt with, and by 2015 we aim to make
available to about 80% of the population adequate sanitation networks . We
wish that this option will be followed by all ? other developing Countries in
Africa, in Asia and in Latin America . As you see, such an ambitious
program needs a catalytic support and seed money for local initiatives, a
3
strong encouragement from the international community and an integrated
approach as agreed in the WSSD action plan.
Mr. Chairman,
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
We have only ten years left before the 2015 deadline! We do not have the
luxury of time nor unlimited resources to delay action even more- so we
must act now! I call on each and every one of us to heed the call of Dakar
to alleviate the suffering of the 2 .4 billion people without adequate
sanitation and the 1 .2 billion without a safe water supply .
I therefore solemnly urge all the Member States and development partners
to use the Global WASH Forum outcomes, in particular, the Dakar
Roadmap, as a model to follow in developing national policies and
approaches for attaining the MDGs.
Based on our experience in Senegal and in other African countries, we are
convinced that we will succeed in the realization of sustainable development
and in the fight against poverty, mainly if we involve the populations,
particularly the women and the young people in the management of water,
sanitation and hygiene programmes ; we still have a chance, let's not
disregard it, if we are resolute to achieve the MDGs by 2015 . Once again, I
would like to underline the commitment of Senegal to take the lead in
Africa and elsewhere in the world, by sharing our knowledge, while willing
to learn from others and work in partnership with those who are ready to
rise up to the challenge . As put by President Abdoulaye Wade < Water,
sanitation and hygiene are basic factors for sustainable development . This
is a primary challenge which must be met if we want to fight against
poverty and help human beings reclaim their dignity » .
I thank you .
OF H.E. DR. MAMADOU LAMINE BA,
MINISTER FOR PREVENTION, PUBLIC HYGIENE
AND SANITATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF SENEGAL
AT THE PREPARATORY MEETING
FOR THE 13TH SESSION OF THE COMMISSION
ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
New York, 28. February 2005
(Check against delivery)
MISSION PERMANENTE DU SENEGAL
aupres des Nations Unies
238 East 68th Street
New York, N .Y 10021
Tel : (212) 517-9030
Fax : (212) 517-3032
Mr. Chairman,
Mr. Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs,
Honourable Ministers,
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have great pleasure to represent my Government, the Republic of Senegal
and to address this eminent body for the first time to report on the first
<
and the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC), in
Dakar from 29 November to 3 December 2004 .
Attended by over 500 participants from 75 countries including
representatives of Governments, 35 ministers, non-governmental
organizations, UN agencies, academic, research and training institutions,
the private sector and other members of civil society, the Global WASH
Forum produced three successful outcomes as contributions to CSD-13 : the
<
<
These concrete and practical results drew on real, meaningful actions that
have taken place at country level in many parts of the world. They are
based on the work of thousands of stakeholders that share one common
goal : to cut down the unacceptably high numbers of deaths and diseases
that still plague many developing countries, especially the poorest of the
poor, in both urban and rural areas . These unserved populations continue
to live in abject poverty and are denied their health and human dignity, due
to the lack of basic sanitation, hygiene and safe water . Without an
integrated approach of these three elements there will be no impact and all
efforts for the MDGs will be in vain, since the fight against poverty starts
with the fight against the above-mentioned scourges
Why am I convinced that I should promote now this cause at this
Preparatory Meeting for CSD-13? To carry the messages from the WASH
Forum and those of H.E. President Abdoulaye Wade, who issued a special
declaration expressing his strong commitment and genuine resolve to
implement the Johannesburg Plan of Action, by putting sanitation and
hygiene at the centre of the sustainable development agenda . For, without
this integrated approach of linking the three crucial elements of water,
sanitation and hygiene (WASH), the world will continue to witness the
`silent emergency' of some 6,000 children dying every day, because we have
turned a blind eye to this reality, or may be because of our carelessness or
even our unconsciousness .
1
2
Soon after the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, H.E.
President Wade was the first Head of State to show his commitment by
establishing a new Ministry for Prevention, Public Hygiene and Sanitation,
which I have the daunting and exciting privilege to lead . I am in charge of
implementing the vision of President Wade, according to which the MDGs
are achievable through national subsidies and assistance from external
donors. In this regard, actions must be taken at the local, national and
regional levels
For example, the African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW) has
recently taken on <
in Ouagadougou which was sponsored by the Water and Sanitation
Program of the World Bank (WSP), the WSSCC and other partners .
In South Asia as well, a similar initiative called << South Asian Ministers
Conference on Sanitation (SACOSAN) >>, was first held in Bangladesh in
2003 and will be followed by a major conference this November called
SACOSAN 2005 to be hosted by the Government of Pakistan. These
regional efforts should be supported and encouraged for knowledge
exchange, information-sharing and capacity building through cooperation
between Africa and Asia, between Latin America and Africa. All these
initiatives could obviously not succeed if we do not enjoy the support of
developed Countries and other development partners .
Mr. Chairman,
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me also remind this august assembly that one of the agreed action plans
in Johannesburg was to integrate sanitation in Integrated Resources
Management (1WRM). Without the promotion of sanitation in river basins
and in catchment areas, water quality can not be conserved. High priority
must also be given to wastewater recycling issues and the technology must
be made available to developing countries at low cost in order to make it
affordable. I am happy to announce that in Senegal we decided to launch a
wastewater network with the assistance of WASH and under the
coordination of WSSCC . We intend, by 2010, to set up, in all secondary
towns, a sanitation network as well as waste water recycling and lagoonage
stations for the re-use of processed water in agriculture and construction .
Rural sanitation will also be dealt with, and by 2015 we aim to make
available to about 80% of the population adequate sanitation networks . We
wish that this option will be followed by all ? other developing Countries in
Africa, in Asia and in Latin America . As you see, such an ambitious
program needs a catalytic support and seed money for local initiatives, a
3
strong encouragement from the international community and an integrated
approach as agreed in the WSSD action plan.
Mr. Chairman,
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
We have only ten years left before the 2015 deadline! We do not have the
luxury of time nor unlimited resources to delay action even more- so we
must act now! I call on each and every one of us to heed the call of Dakar
to alleviate the suffering of the 2 .4 billion people without adequate
sanitation and the 1 .2 billion without a safe water supply .
I therefore solemnly urge all the Member States and development partners
to use the Global WASH Forum outcomes, in particular, the Dakar
Roadmap, as a model to follow in developing national policies and
approaches for attaining the MDGs.
Based on our experience in Senegal and in other African countries, we are
convinced that we will succeed in the realization of sustainable development
and in the fight against poverty, mainly if we involve the populations,
particularly the women and the young people in the management of water,
sanitation and hygiene programmes ; we still have a chance, let's not
disregard it, if we are resolute to achieve the MDGs by 2015 . Once again, I
would like to underline the commitment of Senegal to take the lead in
Africa and elsewhere in the world, by sharing our knowledge, while willing
to learn from others and work in partnership with those who are ready to
rise up to the challenge . As put by President Abdoulaye Wade < Water,
sanitation and hygiene are basic factors for sustainable development . This
is a primary challenge which must be met if we want to fight against
poverty and help human beings reclaim their dignity » .
I thank you .
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