Why We Should All Care about the New US Global Water Strategy
On November 15, the US Department of State and US Agency for International Development (USAID) quietly unveiled a document we should really make noise about: the first-ever United States Global Water Strategy.
The Strategy was required by the Water for the World Act which passed Congress unanimously in 2014 to provide clean drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) to the world’s poorest people. What united Congress with WaterAid and more than 80 other non-profit organizations who championed the bill is also why we should celebrate now. Read on to see why this new strategy, a collaboration among 17 Federal Agencies and Departments, stands out as good news.
GOOD FOR THE WORLD… AND FOR AMERICA
Global public health has long been considered a national security issue. Now, with the Global Water Strategy, the US Administration has positioned water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), as a national security issue, too.
Water scarcity and water poverty create a ripple effect that impacts the rest of the world. Reduced economic growth impacts US export market potential; disease outbreaks reach our shores; lack of education continues the cycle of poverty.
According to the United States National Intelligence Council, global water issues, including WASH, “increase the risk of instability and state failure, increase regional tensions, and distract [many regions] from working with the United States on important U.S. policy objectives.”
The fact that 17 Federal Agencies and Departments contributed to the Global Water Strategy, with the explicit goal of working better together, is a reason to celebrate. This means better use of U.S. tax dollars and smarter, more effective programs guided by joint planning. It will also mean better results, which will save lives and improve opportunity for generations to come.
Equally importantly, the strategy responds to public demand: Public polling shows that 69% of Americans favor clean water as a top priority for U.S. investment overseas. It’s a bipartisan issue, too.
Whether the outcome is stronger national security or better prevention of pandemic diseases, the Global Water Strategy will improve lives around the world. In an interconnected world, that can only improve lives at home, too.
INNOVATION IS THE NAME OF THE GAME
In the U.S., it probably doesn’t seem all that innovative to provide water and soap in a hospital or school, or to help people hold their government accountable. But in the developing world, where 35% of health facilities don’t provide handwashing facilities, prioritizing clean water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) makes a huge difference.
The new Global Water Strategy commits to working on some of the greatest challenges we face in solving the global water crisis:
- Emphasizing the needs of women and girls, who are disproportionately impacted by a lack of WASH in everything from time spent collecting water to gender-based violence experienced at shared latrines
- Focusing on the health and nutrition benefits of WASH (50% of undernutrition is associated with infections caused by a lack of clean water, according to the World Health Organization)
- Improving the safe management of human waste in increasingly crowded urban areas where disease can spread like wildfire
- Supporting governments to manage water better so that everyone has what they need for drinking, cooking, cleaning, farming and more
Water is, quite simply, something we can all agree on. Now it’s up to the 80+ organizations that backed the law requiring this strategy, and the 17 Federal departments and agencies who are committed to it, to ensure it’s implemented right.
Now is the time to put all our resources — financing, technical assistance and advocacy — behind ensuring that everyone, everywhere has clean water, sanitation and hygiene.
We all have a role. All of our futures depend on it.
