The workshop on setting targets and reporting under the Protocol on Water and Health was held on 10 and 11 February 2009, back-to-back with the second meeting of the Task Force on Indicators and Reporting (12 February 2009), under the leadership of the Government of Switzerland with the support of the joint UNECE and WHO/EURO secretariat.
Background:
The Protocol on Water and Health requires Parties to establish and publish national and/or local targets and target dates in different areas in order to achieve or maintain a high level for the protection of human health and well-being and for the sustainable management of water resources. Furthermore, Parties shall collect and evaluate data on their progress towards the achievement of the targets and vis-à-vis indicators that show how far that progress has contributed towards preventing, controlling or reducing water-related disease. The areas in which targets should be set are scattered across different policy sectors and call for close cooperation among different authorities. The target-setting process offers a framework to overview the national situation, ongoing activities and harmonizes commitments with regard to relation between water and health. The workshop will create an interactive platform for exchange of experiences and communication among participants with different backgrounds and representing different sectors, all those who are or might be responsible or involved in target-setting in current and prospective Parties.
Workshop’s objectives:
- To present the concept, possible approaches and the main steps for setting targets and indicators and target dates under the Protocol on Water and Health, and to illustrate them with concrete examples and case studies;
- To provide a platform for exchange of positive and negative experiences and lessons learned by Parties that have set targets under the Protocol and provide assistance for Parties that are currently undergoing or are planning to initiate the process of target-setting;
- To demonstrate, and allow the participants to evaluate, the mechanism for reporting under the Protocol on Water and Health;
- To review and provide additional inputs into the draft guidelines on setting targets, evaluation of progress and reporting, as well as for guidelines on summary reports currently being developed by the Task Force on Indicators and Reporting. (Drafts of these two guidelines will be presented and discussed. Further inputs into the guidelines will be sought, e.g. comments and examples or case studies).
In preparation for the workshop, Parties were kindly requested to fill out a short template (see table below) indicating their current stage in the process of target-setting, the targets set already (if applicable) and the next steps planned as well as challenges and success stories.Documents for the workshop and for the Task Force meeting can be found below: