Vienna, 22 March 2011 – "Clean drinking water and settlement sanitation constitute the foundations for a country's functioning and stable health system", said Foreign Minister Spindelegger on the occasion of the World Water Day on 22 March. However, 884 million people still do not have access to clean drinking water, and 2.6 billion people live without reasonable sanitary facilities and waste water systems. This is particularly true for Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.

According to a study by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) the Millennium Development Goal of halving the share of the population without access to clean drinking water and basic sanitation by the year 2015 will only be partially achieved with the measures currently in place. By 2015, 672 million people will continue to be without clean drinking water, and 2.7 billion people will still have to live with inadequate sanitation facilities. "It is precisely for this reason that, for many years, the Austrian Development Cooperation has been providing support especially to areas in Eastern and Southern Africa in developing a functioning water supply and wastewater disposal. The key to a successful water policy consists in allowing the partners to shape the development processes themselves, to formulate goals independently, and to assume the responsibility for achieving them", stressed Spindelegger.

The main theme of this year's World Water Day, urban water management, is of particular importance for the Austrian Development Cooperation. "We have been concentrating on small-town structures for quite some time because this allows us to strengthen rural regions and stop migration movements from the countryside to large cities", said the Foreign Minister.

Austrian projects in Uganda and Mozambique

In Uganda, more than three quarters of the rural population as well as the entire urban population should have clean drinking water and hygienic sanitation facilities by 2015. To this end, a pilot project for the water supply of a small town was launched with Austrian support as early as 1996. Meanwhile, this project has been extended into a nationwide programme. "With Austrian support, more than 1 million people in rural small towns of Southwest Uganda have been connected to the supply networks. The operator structures in the communities affected guarantee a proper supply. In the meantime, this successful programme has also been launched in other parts of the country. The Austrian Development Cooperation is investing in the extension of water supply and sanitation systems, particularly in the North of Uganda", said Spindelegger.

In Mozambique, too, Austria is an important partner in drinking water supply and in the improvement of hygiene and sanitation. In cooperation with partner organizations, the Austrian Development Cooperation is involved in rural water supply and in the creation of awareness on hygiene, especially in schools. "Clean water alone is not the solution. Sanitation supply and hygiene must be improved at the same time, since 30 percent of child mortality can be attributed to diarrheal diseases due to a lack of hygiene", Spindelegger explained.

Water around the clock

Even in Europe a functioning water system is still not commonplace. In Albania, average water consumption per capita is double that of Austria. The main reasons for this are leaking piping systems, illegal water withdrawal for the irrigation of agricultural areas, or squandering of water due to a lack of water meters. "With the support of Austria, water management in small Albanian towns could be improved and extended, both from a technical and a business point of view", says Spindelegger. "The secret of success in all these projects is mainly expertise and continuity because far-reaching structural adjustments require time. Capacity development means working together and taking coordinated actions. This is the only way of enabling our partners to develop a sustainable, nationwide water supply and wastewater disposal system", Spindelegger concluded.

The Austrian Development Cooperation

The Austrian Development Cooperation supports countries in Africa, Asia, Central America, as well as in South-eastern and Eastern Europe toward a sustainable social, economic, and democratic development. The Foreign Ministry plans the strategies and programmes, while the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), the agency of the Austrian Development Cooperation, implements them in cooperation with public institutions, non-governmental organizations, and enterprises.

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