U.S. Leadership on Water: Only the Sum of Its Parts

In his State of the Union Address on Tuesday night, President Obama spoke about economic equity and fairness.  There may be no greater inequity among people than the disparity regarding access to clean and safe drinking water.  Nearly 900 million people lack access to clean water and almost 2.5 billion don’t have a safe place to go to the bathroom. U.S. leadership on water is progressing, but has a long way to go. 

In Obama’s inaugural address he promised,

to the people of poor nations we pledge to work alongside you to let your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds.

Two months before World Water Day (March 22) NRDC in partnership with CARE and WaterAid in America is releasing our annual report on U.S. progress toward letting clean waters flow. The analysis shows that while the U.S. has demonstrated increasing leadership on clean water, sanitation and hygiene services around the world we are failing to fully meet the challenge.  A critical element for leadership on this issue is a formal water strategy as called for in the 2005 Water for the Poor Act.   However now nearly seven years after the passage of the law, the strategy has yet to be produced. 

USAID

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) implements most of the U.S. efforts to provide clean water and sanitation services for the world’s poor.  In addition USAID advances projects related to hydropower, water for agriculture, environmental conservation, integrated water resources management, and water provision in disasters.  President Obama established a new leadership position at USAID and Chris Holmes took the role of “Global Water Coordinator” – heading up all water related activities.    The Global Water Coordinator is well positioned to produce the long-overdue fully integrated comprehensive water strategy.

Training is another critical element to empower staff at USAID missions around the world to implement successful water and sanitation programs.  To their credit, USAID has conducted more water, sanitation, and hygiene technical trainings in recent years, but expertise and capacity at the mission level remains lackluster and inconsistent.   USAID must step up efforts to train staff because water and sanitation are so basic and easily understood they are often taken for granted. Yet, these programs are neither simple nor a given; training experts helps ensure someone is paying attention to what is needed and how best to meet those needs.

Without the water strategy the U.S. is likely to miss opportunities to leverage partnerships within the U.S. government and with international partners.  And the absent strategy leaves USAID without the tools it needs to measure its own success and continually improve on its work.   As long as USAID has no strategy and limited staff capacity, water and sanitation provision will remain a collection of projects, not a concerted program with the ability to generate wide-scale change.  

Funding

Clean water and safe sanitation is fundamental for health and development.   Diseases caused by water-borne illnesses kill more children each year than AIDS, Malaria and TB combined.   Investments in clean water help children to stay healthy, to go to school and to lead productive lives.  The World Health Organization estimates that for every dollar we invest in clean water eight dollars are returned in increased productivity and decreased health care costs.   

While foreign aid makes up a small percentage of the overall budget; programs directed at provision of basic water and sanitation account for only about $300 million dollars - of a budget that approaches $50 billion every year yet is still only around 1% of the total federal budget.   Nevertheless those funds are critical to provide life-saving clean water.  The U.S. could demonstrate leadership on this critical issue by improving funding for clean water and sanitation while ensuring that the budget for all international aid is protected.

Next Steps

U.S. leadership on water is progressing, but has a long way to go.  Opportunities abound in funding, training and prioritizing water, moreover the strength in USAID’s effort to integrate all water investments will be reinforced if a water strategy is formalized.  As we prepare for World Water Day, a global day of awareness and action, we are reminded that the United States has committed to let clean waters flow.  Let us redouble our efforts to protect clean water for those who need it most so that we all have something to celebrate on World Water Day.