Topic: Access to Safe Drinking Water
Country: New Zealand
Delegate Name: Emma Hughes
School: Ann Arbor Community High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All New Zealand position papers GLIMUN 2009 committees
The World Health Organization states that “access to improved water supply is not only a fundamental need and human right, it also has considerable health and economic benefits to households and individuals.” The current situation regarding safe drinking water is potentially fatal globally. Access to safe drinking water is defined as having a source that “is less than 1 kilometer away from its place of use and that it is possible to reliably obtain at least 20 litres per member of a household per day.” Almost half the world’s population faces a scarcity of water, and currently one billion people do not have access to safe drinking water. Goal 7, Target 3 of the Millennium Development Goals is to “halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.” Since 1990, 1.6 billion people have gained access to safe drinking water, and at this rate the world is expected to meet the target. Global unity is needed to move this effort forward, for if this essential human right is not upheld, the consequences will be devastating.
New Zealand is very concerned with this matter, and believes that drinking water is a necessity for the health of all people. The Ministry of Health has developed the Drinking-water Assistance Programme, which aims to help the many small rural communities in New Zealand that have no access to safe drinking water. Included in the Drinking-water Assistance Programme is the Technical Assistance Programme, which provides technical assistance to small water suppliers. The principal target size for this programme is for suppliers serving communities with a population between 100-1000 people. This is our effort to help all of our rural citizens gain access to safe drinking water.
We urge fellow member states to work toward meeting Goal 7, Target 3 of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals in the specified time span: by 2015. The UN recommends that in order to meet the MDGs, each nation should “increase spending on water and sanitation from about 0.5 per cent to at least 1.0 per cent of GDP to ensure greatly increased access.” In addition, we encourage member states to adopt a policy similar to ours that assists water suppliers in distributing safe drinking water to rural communities.
It is essential to sustain this human right globally. New Zealand believes that this is an issue of deep concern, and that it be treated with high regard. If the MDGs are to be met, efforts from each nation must be made. If, by 2025, Target 3 of Goal 7 is not met, the results will be a world without a necessary human right, which would prove to be disastrous.
