By Bill W. Cooper
A five-member delegation has departed Liberia for Jakarta, Indonesia to form part of a two-day Sector Ministers’ Meeting on Water and Sanitation.
Those forming part of the Liberian delegation include the Chief Executive Officer of the National Water and Sanitation Hygiene Commission (WASH), Bobby Whitfield and Public Works Minister-designate, Ruth Coker Collins.
Others are Health Minister, Dr. Wilhelmina Jallah, Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) CSO Focus Point and Country Monitoring Champion, Timothy Kpeh and the Focus Person in the Office of the WASH CEO, Barmon Jallah.
Making the disclosure at the WASH office in Monrovia, the WASH boss stated that the meeting which runs from May 18-19 is expected to bring together more than 70 ministers from around the world.
He said the event which is the largest gathering of Water and Sanitation ministers ever held is being hosted by the government of Indonesia and convened by the United Nations Sanitation and Water for All global partnership (SWA) and UNICEF.
Amb. Whitfield recounted that the Sector Ministers’ Meeting has been held every two years since 2010, thereby welcoming leading government ministers.
According to him, this is the first year the event will welcome their counterparts in health, environment and the economy to discuss the triple crisis of COVID-19 pandemic, a mounting climate emergency and a struggling global economy which he said threatens decades of progress on sustainable development.
He added at the meeting, his team is expected to also organize side discussions with partners aimed at soliciting direct funds and support towards the WASH, Health and infrastructures sectors of the country.
