Tracking the News

By Luyanda Makapela

Sharm-El-Shaikh – Issues surrounding water and sanitation in Africa will be addressed by a declaration of the African Union (AU) Summit on Thursday.

According to the AU Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, Rhoda Peace, the meeting will be focussed on scaling up efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The meeting will also provide an opportunity for this subject to be given political attention at the highest level while exchanging views on strategies needed to be put in place in the respective countries to meet these targets.

Ms Peace was addressing reporters at the Marithma Conference Centre in Sharm-el-Shaik, Egypt on Wednesday.

Speaking at a press conference at the 11th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union under the theme, "Water and Sanitation", Ms Peace said the achievement of the MDGs on Water and Sanitation remained a challenge.

The MDGs are a set of eight goals, to be achieved by 2015, which respond to the world’s development challenges.

Ms Peace said Africa needed to put in place urgent measures to address both water supply and sanitation, with particular emphasis on sanitation as it lacked behind.

"Our strategy will be to support for raising the profile of water and sanitation at national, regional and continental levels and there will be a declaration on the theme of the summit on how to address these issues at all levels," she said.

She added that the summit will further request Heads of State to prioritise water and sanitation for their respective countries.

Africa has made progress in this regard towards meeting the water supply target, with about 64 percent in 2006 from the 56 percent of people that had access to a source of safe drinking water in 1990.

During the summit, the council is expected to consider a report by the Africa Steering and Working Group on Africa's progress towards achieving the MDGs and on the status of implementation of the MDGs.

The council will then consider recommendations.

"The meeting will further discuss reports on the situation in the Middle East and from various institutions of the AU such as the Pan African Parliament, Standing Committee of ECOSOCC, the African Court on Human and People's Rights and the African Commission on Human and People's Rights.

"The Reports of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and of the High Level Panel on High Food Prices and Food Insecurity held in Johannesburg in May this year will also form part of the reports to be considered by the executive council," the Department of Foreign Affairs said.

There will also be elections of the Members of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and of the Judges of the African Court on Human and People's Rights. - BuaNews