Finance ministers from Latin America and the Caribbean have convened in Washington, D.C., to discuss a critical issue: securing a substantial $372 billion investment over five years to address the water and sanitation crisis affecting the region. This important meeting, hosted by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), alongside UNICEF and the Sanitation and Water for All global partnership (SWA), brought together nearly 100 ministers and development partners during the World Bank Spring Meetings.
The urgency of this investment is driven by the looming threat of climate change and the increasingly frequent extreme weather events, which pose a risk to water and sanitation infrastructure in the region. Shockingly, over 450 million people in the area still lack proper sanitation, while almost 200 million continually grapple with insufficient water services.
Highlighting the financial necessity behind this investment, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) stresses that an annual investment of 1.3% of the regional GDP until 2030 could pave the way for universal access to these essential services. Such investment also promises to generate up to 3.4 million green jobs annually, underlining the potential of water and sanitation improvements to drive not just economic growth, but environmental sustainability as well.
At this critical juncture, finance ministers underscore the region’s mounting debt, which currently stands at a staggering 117 percent of its GDP. Discussions therefore revolve around finance and policy strategies, including the amplification of public finance, harnessing the power of development banks, and enticing private capital. The gathering also highlights the importance of climate finance, energy consumption reduction, and the implementation of both mitigation and adaptation strategies to strengthen the sector.
Clean water and sanitation are not just infrastructure investments, but also investments in the health and well-being of children and families. This groundwork will not only lay the foundation for a thriving generation, but also play a pivotal role in shaping a more promising future for the region.
Catarina de Albuquerque, CEO of SWA, emphasizes the need for a monumental 16-fold increase in progress rates for water and a 7-fold increase for sanitation in Latin America and the Caribbean. She adamantly adds that with bold leadership, especially from Heads of State and national governments, change is indeed achievable. Meanwhile, Catherine Russell, Executive Director of UNICEF, stresses the critical need to designate safe water, sanitation, and hygiene as essential public services. She calls on government ministers in the region to prioritise these crucial elements in their national budgets and development plans, as allocating sufficient resources to water, sanitation, and hygiene is pivotal for cultivating a more resilient, equitable, and prosperous future for children and their families.
The Latin America Finance Ministers’ Meeting aims to drive political and institutional reforms and attract additional resources for the water and sanitation sector to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. It is an initiative that holds the key to a brighter, more sustainable future for the region.
For further information about the Latin America Finance Ministers’ Meeting, please visit this link: https://www.sanitationandwaterforall.org/2023-finance-ministers-meeting-0
CONTACTS:
Christine Luby
Media Advisor
Sanitation and Water for All (SWA)
Email: [email protected]
Sara Alhattab
Communication Specialist
UNICEF New York
Email: [email protected]