WaterAid Timor-Leste's implementing partner HAK organized a national dialogue on the planning, investment, and advocacy efforts integrating improved rural water, sanitation and hygiene system
City 8 hall Manelana Dili, 26 of September 2024, HAK organized a national dialogue on the planning, investment, and advocacy efforts integrating improved rural water, sanitation and hygiene system. It has the objective to actualize the significant progress no principal challenges in water, sanitation, and hygiene sectors at the national and municipal levels to empower the WASH sector planning and investment including to share WASH as human rights information to the local authorities, civil society organizations, and university students.
The national dialogue opened by the HE Vice-Prime Minister, Mr. Mariano “Asanami” Sabino. In is intervention, he said that the national dialogue is vital. This state has three important pillars such as Government, Private Sectors, and Civil Society (including NGOs). “As the Vice-Prime Minister, who is also responsible to the social affairs, and I work with the NGOs as important partners whereby each one has its own roles. Some working on advocacy, some working on human rights, some working on controlling, by this we are completing each other so that we won’t be failing in utilizing populations’ state budget to be impactful to the whole population”, said the Vice-Prime Minister. He added that “ I’m taking the responsibility in this Government together with the Secretary of State, the Minister of Public Works, and we hope that we will start to prioritize WASH, improved planning on conserving our springs, therefore it is all of us’ role and responsibility in protecting our island”.
Mr. Feliciano da Costa Araújo, the Director of HAK Association in his opening remark stated that this national dialogue is as one of the ways to share the ideas to develop the water, sanitation, and hygiene sector. He added, the projections towards financing programs have to put a core issue of the populations’ well-being. Therefore, HAK Association as a Human Rights Organization consider these aspects, protection, established, so that the population feel the Government’s commitment to the populations future and the incoming generations.
The Country Director of WaterAid Timor-Leste, Mr. Justino da Silva stated that WaterAid is committed in prioritizing the water, sanitation, and hygiene sector with the implementation and advocacy approaches. He added that, this activity as one of the ways of the advocacy efforts, to have the collaboration and strong relation with the Government institutions, and civil society to contributing to the influencing level. “9th Constitutional Government plan at the point 3.3 mentioned the water and sanitation aspects – meaning that there is a priority on this sector. However, communication and this type of dialogue need to be continuously held in reminding the relevant actors in their decision making and considerations into the planning. In Timor-Leste, when we look at the percentage data, around 85% have access to water meaning 15% are left, almost 40% did not have access to sanitation, and 60% did have appropriate hand washing facilities. One of the priorities is that we need to highly consider this issue during this 5 years of period”, said the Country Director of WaterAid Timor-Leste.
This activity is supported by the Government of Australia through the Water for Women Fund.
