The Telegraph: U.K. must spend more on water and sanitation to help lift everyone out of poverty
Tim Wainwright, chief executive of WaterAid

“…[U.K. overseas aid] fails to sufficiently prioritize one area that is an essential element in escaping poverty — providing clean water, decent sanitation, and good hygiene (WASH). Without these three basic human rights, escaping poverty is nearly impossible. Yet despite this, only two percent of [the U.K.] foreign aid budget is invested in ensuring everyone, everywhere has clean water and decent sanitation. … By increasing the amount spent on water and sanitation, health care facilities would be safer, hospital infections could be contained more effectively, and the millions of school days currently lost to illness restored. And it is those furthest behind and the most marginalized who would gain the most. … By increasing the funding available for [WASH] and [the U.K.’s Department for International Development (DFID)] using its considerable clout to encourage other actors to invest as well, the U.K. can regain its position as a leader. Without health, education, and WASH, human development is impossible. Good provision of all three paves the way to a future in which overseas development assistance is no longer needed. … If we act now and act with urgency and focus we have the greatest opportunity to change the situation and the most to gain. The U.K. can, and must, do better” (7/17).