BAGUIO CITY – The World Water Council (WWC) selected Baguio City as one of the eight cities where it will conduct its project to identify the most appropriate financial mechanisms that could be put in place to increase access to improve sanitation facilities in eight selected countries taking into consideration their social, political and economic context.
Tom Soo, WWC Executive Director, said the council is convinced that the results of the aforesaid analysis will be extremely beneficial to develop the sanitation sector of the countries involved in the project and could also serve as an example to other countries.
“We believe that Baguio City would be a suitable example to develop the analysis, considering the important efforts that the local government is making under your leadership to improve water and sanitation services to respond to the rapid urban expansion and to the benefit of the population,” Soo stated in his letter to Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan.
The WWC extended the invitation to the local government to actively participate in the said project and to support the same by providing the necessary data and information that will serve as the basis of the aforesaid study, including the city’s policy, economic and institutional aspects of the sanitation sector.
WWC recently engaged Ms. Angelina Victoria N. Ferrer as a consultant to undertake a case study analysis of Baguio City, thus, related authorities should afford her all the appropriate assistance and cooperation necessary for her that will make the project successful.
Soo pointed out since its creation, WWC has worked relentlessly to make access to water and sanitation for all a reality and following the adoption of the 2030 development agenda, more vigorous exertions are deemed necessary to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development goal 6.2 on access to sanitation, especially if it is considered that 40 percent of the world’s population is still without basic sanitation.
Despite the continued efforts made during the past two decades to improve access to sanitation worldwide, The WWC official pointed out the related millennium development goals target was not actually reached.
Under the WWC project, sanitation is defined as the management, treatment, and re-use of human excreta and waste water; and it does not include solid waste management.
Soo explained the project is not all about sanitation, but it is about financing sanitation and regarding the sanitation services, what is needed is enough information to inform analysis about financing them.
While the WWC’s major concern is urban sanitation, Soo claimed beneficiaries of the project are welcome to add brief comments and analysis about rural sanitation if the officials feel that it would give a clearer overall picture of the situation in the said countries.
Among those that will be included in the detailed report of the commissioned consultants include a short background of the country, a short background on the study setting, the financing sanitation in the city, institutional and policy aspects, the concept on increasing financial flows for sanitation, and project development.
The project aims at identifying the most appropriate financial mechanisms that could better support the development of the sanitation sector of selected countries, taking into consideration their social, political and economic backgrounds. By HENT
