High Level Meeting / Press briefing TODAY April 21, Washington DC

MEDIA ADVISORY

EMBARGOED: WEDNESDAY, 21 APRIL 2010, 3:30 P.M. EST

For billions still living without access to sanitation and water the cost of inaction is too high

WHAT?

Press briefing to:

(i) Launch of the UN-Water Global Annual Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water (GLAAS), which centralizes key information/data, highlights challenges and elucidates where efforts stagnate for achieving the water and sanitation Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets.

(ii) Pre-meeting briefing: First annual High Level Meeting of Sanitation and Water for All, to be held on 23 April, to take stock of progress, decide how to increase the performance and effectiveness of the sector, and increase understanding of how investment in sanitation and water leads to greater economic and human development.

WHO?

Minister:
Mr. Bai-Mass Taal, Executive Secretary of the African Ministers' Council on Water (AMCOW)

World Health Organization:
Dr Maria Neira, Director for the Department of Public Health and Environment

UNICEF:
Clarissa Brocklehurst, Chief of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

Civil Society:
Mr. Yakub Hossein, Freshwater Action Network South Asia (FANSA)

Donor representative:
Mr. Dick van Ginhoven, Sr. Water and Sanitation Advisor, The Netherlands

WHERE?

Ronald Reagan Building: The Hemisphere Room, Washington D.C.

WHEN?

Wednesday, 21 April 2010, 3:30 – 5:00 p.m. EST

For a copy of the embargoed report and password see link below below. Please note the report is on a protected FTP site and under embargo until Wednesday 21 April 2010, 03:30 pm EST:

WHO link: ftp://ftp.who.int/HSE/UN-Water%20GLAAS/

Password: ThroughtheGLAAS

For further information, please contact:

Geneva: Ms Nada Osseiran, Communications Officer, Public Health and Environment, WHO, Geneva, Tel. + 4122 7914475, Mobile +4179 445 1624, Email: osseirann@who.int;

Washington: Ms Donna Eberwine-Villagrán, Media relations, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), Tel. + 1 202 974 3122, Email: eberwind@paho.org.

New York: Ms Saira Khan, UNICEF Media, New York, Tel: + 1 212 326 7224, Email:sskhan@unicef.org

Washington: Mr Christopher Walsh, Communications Officer, Water and Sanitation Program,

Tel: + 1 202 473 4594, Email, cwalsh@worldbank.org

For media materials and info please visit:

http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/glaas
http://www.unicef.org/
http://www.unwater.org/activities_san4all.html