There are eight UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). They are:
- Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
- Achieve universal primary education
- Promote gender equality and empower women
- Reduce child mortality
- Improve maternal health
- Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
- Ensure environmental sustainability
- Develop a global partnership for development
The MDGs form a blueprint agreed to by all the world’s countries and leading development institutions and have galvanized unprecedented efforts to meet the needs of the world’s poorest.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies' (IFRC) Global Water and Sanitation Initiative has specific targets in response to the MDGs, focusing on:
Millennium Development Goal no. 2
Water and sanitation facilities are needed at schools worldwide. In disaster scenarios when the IFRC supports rehabilitation or reconstruction of schools, we ensure there are sanitation facilities and a safe water supply. During or post-disaster, a safe water supply is crucial for wet feeding programmes at schools (where food is prepared on site).
In longer-term development, authorities in many countries will close schools if there is no water supply and sanitation. In Zimbabwe, the IFRC, working with Red Cross Red Crescent volunteers and community members, has re-opened or kept schools open by building latrines or establishing water points nearby.
Inadequate sanitation can adversely affect female attendance. Young girls can feel uncomfortable during menstruation if private facilities are not available. Female attendance rates have improved in some countries where suitable facilities have been made available.
Millennium Development Goal no. 3
Women and children often bear the task of water collection, often from great distances. By ensuring that women are properly represented and engaged in community water and sanitation committees, they can influence the positioning of water supplies to reduce the distances they have to walk. It is now standard practice in IFRC water projects that women are properly represented in community structures and given the same training opportunities as men.
Millennium Development Goal no. 4
A recognised primary cause of mortality under the age of five is poor water and sanitation linked to unsafe hygiene practices. Establishing safe water and sanitation facilities can help significantly, but the added benefit of better hygiene practices can have an even greater impact.
Mortality can be reduced by:
- hand and body washing
- cleanliness in the home and surrounding environment
- safe water and food storage
- washing hands after using the toilet
An integral combination of water and sanitation, better nutrition, immunization and disease control has the potential to make the biggest impact on mortality under the age of five.
Millennium Development Goal no. 7
Community empowerment and engagement through the global network of Red Cross Red Crescent volunteers can increase the coverage of sustainable safe water and sanitation among the world's poor.
The use of low-tech, environmentally friendly options such as spring development, non-fossil fuel water pumping systems and water catchment protection is key in IFRC water and sanitation policy and strategy.