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Africa off track with safe water targets

2021-10-26  Staff Reporter

Africa off track with safe water targets

Namibian water affairs minister Calle Schlettwein has stressed African countries are off track in achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.1 and 6.2 targets. 

Targets 6.1 and 6.2 build on the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) target on drinking water and sanitation and respond directly to the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation.

Schlettwein was speaking in Egypt this week during a policy dialogue session on “Water scarce countries for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals”. 

The session is part of the fourth Cairo Water Week taking place from 24 to 28 October 2021. 

At the event, Schlettwein also shared Namibia’s experience in the water sector and illustrated the country has been heavily impacted by climate variability and climate change, causing greater water and food insecurity. 

The Cairo Water Week 2021 is a collaborative cross-sector platform seeking to create opportunities to bring together governments, the private sector and civil society in order to promote knowledge sharing, innovation promotion and generate further policy discussions on water, climate change and sustainability of the planet for future generations. 

This year focuses on challenges and issues on the impact of over-population on the scarcity, management of water resources and the multiplier effect of climate change on water security. 

The Namibian delegation at the event also met with their Egyptian counterparts from the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation and the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation to further strengthen cooperation between Namibia and Egypt in several sectors of mutual interest. 

Furthermore, the five-day conference and exhibition features keynote addresses by world-renowned leaders in academia and water technology industries focusing on the latest significant developments and scientific advancements related to water issues in order to promote better use and management of global water resources globally. 


2021-10-26  Staff Reporter

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