d5MrHv

Recommendations

Info

National High School Model United Nations 2015 HLPF which means that accessing it does not represent a danger or risk for the users. All in all, safe drinking water must meet the standards for consumption and other basic needs and must be provided safely, not only for people but also for the environment and the economy. 42 The international community has been well aware of the need to provide safe access to water globally. Consequently, the progress towards this purpose has been steady and significant. This can be evidenced in the progress made from 1990 to 2012 and the achievement of the MDG target 7C specifically regarding water access. 43 By 1990 the global coverage of access to water stood at 76%. In 2012 it stood at 89%, which means that since 1990, 2.3 billion people gained access to an improved drinking water source. 44 Thanks to this steady progress, MDG target 7C, in regard to safedrinking water, was achieved by 2010, five years before the MDGs’ 2015 deadline. 45 Despite the average raise in coverage, access to water is still not equitable. For instance, coverage only improved between 50-75% for 35 countries, 26 of which belong in SSA. This clearly displays how uneven the development processes are and how the regions’ preexisting vulnerabilities affect their progress towards development. 46 As reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), SSA had little to no progress from 1990 to 2011. Piped water on premises showed no improvement, maintaining 15% coverage. While many in the region use other improved water sources that are not as reliable and safe as piped water, a significant number relies on unimproved sources and direct use of surface water. 47 Although reports show that 24% of SSA’s population gained access to an improved drinking water source from 2000 to 2012, the region is not on track to meet the MDG by 2015. 48 The main reason is a “low 1990 baseline” combined with a very high rate of population growth, exacerbating the difficulties to meet development targets. 49 Sanitation Sanitation is the access to and use of wastewater and excreta facilities and other services. 50 This access should provide people with dignity, privacy, and a hygienic environment. These services include “the collection, transport, treatment, and disposal” of excreta, wastewater, and solid waste. 51 In other words, sanitation means a complete sewage system in households, health facilities, and schools. This is the highest type of access to sanitation. Besides it there are sanitation services that aim for enhanced hygienic conditions. For instance, an improved sanitation facility is one that “hygienically separates human excreta from human contact” such as the use of a flush, septic tank, !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! accessed 22 June 2014, http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/pdf/05_2011_human_right_to_water_reader_eng.pdf; A/RES/64/292, “The Human Right to Water and Sanitation,” 28 July 2010, accessed 23 June 2014, http://www.un.org/es/comun/docs/?symbol=A/RES/64/292&lang=E. 42 A Post-2015 Global Goal for Water. 43 Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability; Progress on Sanitation and Drinking-Water – 2013 Update, (Geneva: World Health Organization and UNICEF, 2013), accessed 22 June 2014. 44 Progress on Sanitation and Drinking Water – 2014 Update. 45 Ibid. 46 Ibid. 47 Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability; Progress on Sanitation and Drinking-Water – 2013 Update. 48 Ibid. 49 Progress on Sanitation and Drinking Water – 2014 Update. 50 Glossary on the Human Right to Water and Sanitation. 51 Ibid. - 13 -
National High School Model United Nations 2015 HLPF pit latrine, or a composting toilet. 52 Sanitation, like drinking water, is a right and is particularly connected to human dignity and quality of life. 53 Thus, it greatly impacts people’s lifestyles, livelihoods, and personal fulfillment. Additionally, it is a clear indicator of the developmental circumstances of the society and the state of other human rights. Sanitation is often conceived only as individual sanitation and hygiene, and access to toilets. However, a vital part of access to sanitation is solid waste management and disposal. 54 Solid waste is all materials discarded and produced by human activities. 55 There is municipal solid waste which is produced by the residential, industrial, commercial, and institutional activities, such as litter, garbage, and debris. 56 There is also special waste, such as hazardous waste, which is produced by construction and demolition, and liquid waste like wastewater. 57 The accurate management and disposal of this waste guarantees good public health, a healthy environment, and resilient cities and communities. Unfortunately, in SSA and many developing countries there is little to no solid waste management system in place. For instance, Nancy Wangari, a community health worker in one of Kenya’s slums, says that the threat of diseases “from poor sanitation is real.” 58 She says that both the improper disposal of waste and the lack of water put their lives at risk by causing cholera, typhoid, and many other illnesses. 59 Moreover, the consequences are not only related to health or the environment; the economy pays a high toll as well. Maurice Omondi, a Kenyan resident, states that water vendors profit from people’s hardships. 60 Such abuse impoverishes the communities where people work and widens the income gap between the poor without water and sanitation, and the rich with access to these resources. Additionally, in these areas, people must dispose of their solid waste in plastic bags or risk the sewer lines emptying themselves in the streets, resulting in unhygienic situations. 61 This lack of appropriate waste disposal threatens the wellbeing of communities and towns and could even transform viable cities and areas into slums. 62 Therefore, municipal waste disposal is a critical part of sanitation. It is vital for communities and states to envision the most sustainable options to properly dispose of their wastes. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nation’s Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 2.5 billion people globally do not have access to improved sanitation facilities. Of those !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 52 Ibid. 53 A/RES/64/292. 54 “KENYA: Poor Sanitation Brings Misery to Slums,” IRINnews, 7 September 2010, accessed 8 August 2014, http://www.irinnews.org/Report/90593/KENYA-Poor-sanitation-brings-misery-to-slums. 55 Gary Davidson, Waste Management Practices: Literature Review (Halifax: Dalhousie University, 2011), accessed 8 August 2014, http://www.dal.ca/content/dam/dalhousie/pdf/sustainability/Waste%20Management%20Literature%20Review%20Fi nal%20June%202011%20(1.49%20MB).pdf. 56 Ibid. 57 Ibid. 58 “KENYA: Poor Sanitation Brings Misery to Slums.” 59 Ibid. 60 Ibid. 61 Ibid. 62 Urban Catastrophes: The Wat/San Dimension (London: Humanitarian Futures Programme, King’s College London, 2009), accessed 8 August 2014, http://www.humanitarianfutures.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Humanitarian- Crisis-Drivers-of-the-Future-Urban-Catastrophes-the-WatSan-Dimension.pdf. - 14 -
Page 1: HLPF High-Level Political Forum on
Page 4 and 5: NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL MODEL UNITED N
Page 6 and 7: National High School Model United N

d5MrHv

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?