After the performance, the distinguished panel composed of H.R.H Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, Hon. Edna Molewa, Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Republic of South Africa and President of African Ministers Council of Water (AMCOW) and Mr Joan Clos, Under Secretary General and Executive Director, UN-Habitat presented the outcomes of World Water Day in Cape Town, via a live video link, to Washington, U.S.A.

Hon. Edna Molewa opened by reinforcing AMCOW’s determination to build on the past African Union declarations, outlining that AMCOW will continue to mobilize through advocacy and lobbying to improve access to water. “We will continue to build on the important mitigation aspects of our work and we are determined to move forward to implement a plan of action,” she said.

H.R.H. Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands said: “Water and sanitation are like Siamese twins if we separate them one may die, and we don’t know which one”. He outlined the need for a marked drive to increase attention and resources for water and sanitation, as it requires considerable funding for operation and maintenance. He said capital investment in water and sanitation infrastructure urgently requires funding. He closed with a plea to President Zoellick of the World Bank group to put investment in water and sanitation high on the agenda at the World Bank’s upcoming planning and strategy meetings.

Mr Joan Clos said: “We are in a crisis, with the percentage of urban population with access to water and sanitation decreasing, it is a sad reality and we need to face this”. He noted  that the number of people with no access to water and sanitation was also increasing, and rapid urbanization was increasing faster than the capacity of cities to build and provide infrastructure. “The good news is that we can face this by developing urban policies to address urban planning and urban legislation,” he said. “We need to plan in advance of the problem to mitigate; we need to plan today not tomorrow. We need to plan at the scale of the problem and in line with growth. We must have a basic plan that considers water, sanitation and drainage’ he said.

In Washington, delegates gathered at the World Bank headquarters on World Water Day to witness U.S Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President of the World Bank Group Mr Robert Zoellick sign an unprecedented memorandum of understanding that seeks to harness the US strengths within the water and sanitation sector, to improve water security in developing countries.

Mr Robert Zoellick opened by saying that if you look at almost any poverty issue, you will find the issue of water. He said lack of safe and accessible water and adequate sanitation is the world’s leading cause of illness; it is responsible for over two million deaths a year, many of whom are children. “This timely memorandum of understanding will allow over 18 US agencies to share their expertise and further aims to foster and build partnerships with private, civil society and non-profit organizations and their experts to share resources, expertise and ideas,” he said.

U.S Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said: “The water crisis is a health crisis, it’s a farming crisis, it’s an economic crisis, it’s a climate crisis and increasingly it’s a political crisis”. The memorandum of understanding will see 18 federal agencies sharing their expertise and skills to contribute towards increased water security, which would otherwise undermine and impede progress in developing countries. Clinton said that NASA was already collaborating closely with five countries in the Middle East to share their remote sensing technologies for water conservation. She said there are many more opportunities for interagency and cross country exchanges. “Water security is a matter of human security, political security and water security,” she said. “The water crisis can bring people together and cooperation and not conflict should be the rule.” In closing she stated that there is nothing more urgent and important than water not only for greater health but for improved stability.