Side Event at the World Water Week 2014 // Post 2015: Target on "Universal Access to Drinking Water"- What Water Quality?

To what extent will they respond to past concerns on water quality monitoring and mean that states endeavor to provide everyone with drinking water which is really safe — and to realize the human right to water? What are related monitoring challenges? If higher standards for drinking water quality are set, how much would access figures drop, and how ambitious would it be to reach universal access?

Time & Room

Sunday 17:45-18:45 Room K21 Integrating "universal access to drinking water and basic sanitation" into the post 2015 agenda is a priority for the water sector community. At the same time, it is a consensus that the current MDG monitoring does not fully capture whether water is really safe to drink. Many more than the 768 million people without "access" drink unsafe water. The Joint Monitoring Program (JMP) works intensively on improvements in monitoring water quality. However, concrete ways to better monitor drinking water quality are still under discussion. Currently, UN Water and JMP discuss two access levels— a basic level for all and a higher level for a proportion of the population. Only for the latter a more elaborate water quality monitoring is foreseen.

Programme

17:45 Welcome Dr. Uschi Eid, Chair of UNSGAB 17:50 What Water Quality- Discussion of MDG Approach, Current JMP Proposals and UNSGAB Suggestions In Light of the State of the Post 2015 Process Mr. Gérard Payen, Member of UNSGAB 18:00 Panel Discussion Panel Opening Message. Ms. Catarina de Albuquerque, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation -Mr. Franz-Birger Marré, BMZ -Dr. Richard Johnston, WHO / JMP -Mr. Gérard Payen, Member of UNSGAB -Mr. Manuel Thurnhofer, SDC 18:45 Conclusion and Closure Dr. Uschi Eid, UNSGAB 18:45 Close of Side Event

Convenors

-Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit -Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany -United Nations Secretary General's Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation

Co-convenor

-World Health Organization/United Nations Children's Fund Joint Monitoring Programme