The Stockholm Statement to the High Level Plenary Meeting on the MDGs: "Our
Goals Need Water"

STOCKHOLM, Sept. 10 /CNW/ - Participants at the 2010 World Water Week in Stockholm urged the High Level Plenary Meeting on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to fully recognise and act upon the fundamental roles of water resources, drinking water, sanitation and water for all.

Download the full 2010 Stockholm Statement: http://www.worldwaterweek.org/speeches

The summit will be held during September 20-22 at the United Nations General Assembly to review progress on the achievement the targets adopted at the UN Millennium Summit of 2000, aimed at slashing poverty, hunger, disease, maternal and child deaths and other ills by a 2015 deadline.

"Water has definitely not yet received the place it needs to have in the draft outcome of that summit. Good management of water resources and provision of drinking water and sanitation is a prerequisite for fulfilling all the MDGs," said Anders Berntell, Executive Director of the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI).

According to the 2010 Stockholm Statement, water should therefore be recognised as one of the most important cross-cutting issues that needs to be addressed by the summit, with the recognition that increased financing and better management is urgently needed.

The Statement, voted on by participants of the 2010 World Water Week in Stockholm, clearly stipulates how water is at the core of achieving all of the MDGs. "Lack of water and sanitation makes people poor. Inadequate access to water and sanitation deprives billions of people, especially women and girls, of opportunities, dignity, safety and well being."

The statement concludes that sanitation and water are not just targets or sectors. They are the fundamental basis for life and indispensable to sustainable economic and social development. "The diseases of poor water quality still cause half of the malnourishment in our world."

About the World Water Week in Stockholm

The World Water Week in Stockholm is the annual meeting place for the planet's most urgent water-related issues. Organised by SIWI, it brings together 2,500 experts, practitioners, decision makers and business innovators from around the globe to exchange ideas, foster new thinking and develop solutions. http://www.worldwaterweek.org

About SIWI

SIWI is a policy institute that contributes to international efforts to combat the world's escalating water crisis. SIWI develops and promotes future-oriented and knowledge-integrated policies, towards sustainable use of the world's water resources leading to sustainable development and poverty eradication. http://www.siwi.org

PRESS INFORMATION: For press kit, background facts, photos and video, see: http://www.worldwaterweek.org/media

For further information: and interview requests, contact: Ms. Britt-Louise Andersson, SIWI, [phone], [email protected]; Mr. Jens Berggren, SIWI, [phone], [email protected]