SWA forms Global Leadership Council to advocate universal water, sanitation and hygiene

The Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) partnership has formed a Global Leadership Council (GLC), a high-level group of appointed SWA leaders to advocate for universal water, sanitation and hygiene.

The  high level group will advocate in the lead up to 2030, which is the deadline for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN.

This council represent a geographically diverse group of politicians, executives, and advocates.

It includes Laura Chinchilla, the former president of Costa Rica; Henrietta Fore, UNICEF’s executive director; Kevin Rudd, former Australian Prime Minister and current President of the Asia Society; Alan Jope, CEO of Unilever; and Kumi Naidoo, former secretary-general of Amnesty International.

The council has been set up to not just advocate but also to mobilise political commitment to prioritise water, sanitation and hygiene, develop better governance structures and institutions to achieve SDG by the year 2030.

It also intends to boost the visibility of sanitation, water and hygiene across the world.

The leaders will leverage their experience and network of contacts in government, business, UN agencies, and civil society, to advocate for a multi-stakeholder approach so that challenges of achieving universal water and sanitation can be overcome by 2030.

SWA CEO Catarina de Albuquerque said: “As the current pandemic has shown, access to water and sanitation is absolutely vital for public health and global development, as it is also for the achievement of other development goals, such as effective action on climate change and for realizing human rights in general.

“I am confident that our Global Leaders will be instrumental in advocating for and mobilizing wider and higher political commitment to the Guiding Principles and aims of the SWA partnership.”