United Nations Children's Fund

Fonds des Nations Unies pour l'enfance

Fondo de las Naciones Unidas para la Infancia

SPEECH BY UNICEF WATER AND SANITATION CHIEF HANS SPRUIJT

IN HONOR OF WORLD WATER DAY 22 MARCH 2003

His Excellency, Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Water Resources, Mesfin Tegene,

Distinguished Guests,

Members of the Media,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

First of all let me welcome all of you here today for World Water Day. I would also like to congratulate the Ministry for its launch of its 15-Year Water Plan. What a perfect way to support the theme of this year’s event, “Water for the Future.”

As many of you know, UNICEF has supported two Ethiopian teen-agers to attend the third World Water Forum in Kyoto this week in addition to the Minister of Water Resources. Before they left for Japan, Tireza Satheesh and Zerihum Mammo visited drought-affected areas of the country. Tireza said that she was able to see with her own eyes how a lack of water can devastate a community. Children were not able to go to school. Many of them had to walk three to four hours from their home to collect water for their families and by the time they returned they did not have time to make their classes. Even when they did get water, she says the children told her that it was unsanitary and they often suffered from diarrhea.

Both Tireza and Zerihun said they planned to tell the world, both the leaders from various countries and their peers from around the globe, about the water problems that the children and youth of Ethiopia are facing in this current humanitarian crisis. They want to bring these children’s suffering to the attention of world stage and discuss solutions to Ethiopia’s water problems. Zerihun himself has said young people have an important role to play in solving the country’s water and sanitation issues. For instance, he suggests that young people in drought-affected areas come together and teach the community how to stop depending on rainwater alone. Here in Addis, he would like to see youth working on getting the garbage out of the rivers and stiffer penalties for those who pollute. Young people do have an important role to play. We need to listen to them and work together to address Ethiopia’s water and sanitation challenges. As Zerihun and Tireza both told me: Wuha Hiwot New – Water is Life -- and it truly is the hope for a better future for Ethiopia’s children.

I want to assure you that you are not alone. UNICEF will continue to work with you in developing solutions to the current drought crisis, from water tankering to providing jerry cans for those in need to repairing damaged water works and drilling new wells. Our regular programming also continues, like building latrines at schools to make sure girls feel safe attending their classes and installing hand-pumps in villages so that women and children don’t have to walk kilometers to have access to clean, safe drinking water. Next week, members of my team will travel to Guraghe where 22 wells have been drilled in just 40 days. That is an achievement of which both the Ministry and UNICEF can be proud. Working together we can make a difference in the lives of Ethiopians around the country. “Water for the Future” is a goal that we will achieve.

For more information, please contact the UNICEF Communications Section,

telephone: 251-1-515155 or 444400; fax: 517111; e-mail: awalker@unicef.org