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WSSCC

Former Executive Director of UN-HABITAT, Professor Anna Tibaijuka, to Chair the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council

Geneva (ots)

The Steering Committee of the Water Supply and
Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) today elected Professor Anna
Tibaijuka, Former Executive Director of UN-HABITAT, as its new Chair.
WSSCC ( www.wsscc.org ) is an alliance of members from a range of 
sectors who are committed to improving the lives of poor people 
around the world by improving access to basic sanitation, good 
hygiene practices, and safe drinking water. Prof. Tibaijuka will 
succeed Dr Roberto Lenton, whose second and final term of office 
comes to an end in March 2011.
"We live in a world of unacceptable inequality," said Prof. 
Tibaijuka. "Two thirds of the world's population takes access to a 
toilet for granted. Yet a third of the people alive today - 2.6 
billion individuals, most of them in Africa and South Asia - do not 
have access to basic sanitation, and 0.9 billion lack safe drinking 
water. I want to address this inequality."
Prof. Tibaijuka grew up in rural Tanzania, and knows first-hand 
the impact of poor sanitation and hygiene on the health and economic 
well-being of a community. She has seen the benefits that small 
changes can make: installing a separate toilet in a school can 
improve girls' attendance; providing soap and water for handwashing 
can reduce the spread of diarrhoea, the second leading cause of death
among children under five years old; and ensuring clean drinking 
water can help reduce outbreaks of water-borne diseases such as 
cholera.
Recent analyses of progress towards achievement of the Millennium 
Development Goals have revealed that sanitation is by far the most 
off-track MDG in sub-Saharan Africa, and second globally, after 
nutrition. "We are delighted that Prof. Tibaijuka has accepted the 
challenge of leading WSSCC to address the neglected topics of 
sanitation and hygiene," said outgoing Chair, Dr Roberto Lenton. 
"These issues need champions, and she has already proved herself to 
be a strong leader - respected in her home country, throughout 
Africa, and on the world stage."
In her role as Chair of WSSCC, Prof. Tibaijuka plans to draw on 
her experience and network of contacts in politics, business, 
academia and within the UN system, to raise awareness about the need 
for concerted action. Under her leadership, WSSCC intends to continue
its current growth, notably in the Global Sanitation Fund, a 
programme of WSSCC, which supports sanitation work in many of the 
world's poorest countries.

Contact:

WSSCC Media Contacts
Amanda Marlin
Tel.: +41/22/560'81'75
Mobile: +41/79/650'26'29
E-Mail: amanda.marlin@wsscc.org

David Trouba
Tel.: +41/22/560'81'78
Mobile: +41/79/261'54'00
E-Mail: david.trouba@wsscc.org