The webinar on How South-South Cooperation contributes to achieving the SDG 6 of ensuring access of all to clean water and sanitation?, held on 24th of May 2018, discussed how South-South Cooperation (SSC) contributed to achieving the SDG 6, focused on ensuring decent access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) for all. The webinar, the first in a series of thematic webinars planned this year, was organized by the United Nations Children\’s Fund (UNICEF), the International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG), and the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC).
Panellists were Samuel Godfrey, Chief, Water Supply Section, Ethiopia. Anna Maria Graziano, Project Manager, The Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC). Mário Augusto Parente Monteiro, State Regulation Agency of Ceará, Brazil. Irene Amongin, WASH Specialist, UNICEF NYHQ. The event was moderated by Ian Thorpe, Chief, Knowledge Exchange, UNICEF NYHQ.
Mr. Godfrey shared UNICEF’s experiences in facilitating the SSC between the governments of Ethiopia and Brazil, emphasizing how SSC between the two countries promoted the transfer of technology and sharing of knowledge in the area of SDG 6.1 and 6.2. He also underlined the importance of planning for long term collaboration. Sharing complementing perspectives from the Brazilian Cooperation Agency, Ms. Graziano explained how the structured and intentional engagement of SSC is leveraging increased efficiency and sustainability while relying on countries’ comparative advantages. Showcasing Brazil’s actions in Ethiopia, Mr. Monteiro shared the experiences of ARCE (the State Regulation Agency of Ceará, Brazil) and underscored some of the key messages of SSC as transferring the knowledge and capacity for countries to find their own solutions to development challenges. Last but not least, Ms. Amongin shared the experience of UNICEF Headquarters’ work with the CoP WASH in Schools, and how this brought together 480 practitioners, facilitating collaboration and breaking of silos amongst different sub-sectors in WASH.
The purpose of the webinar was to provide an opportunity for practitioners to share their perspectives and knowledge, in order to exchange experiences of good practices in WASH and learn from challenges encountered in achieving SDG 6 and engaging in SSC.
