DOHA: Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) has organised a high-profile meeting to study the impact of sanitation on health and education, in cooperation with the UN-hosted Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC), on the margin of the 2018 High Level Political Forum (HLPF) in New York.

The meeting comes as part of QFFD’s efforts to promote international partnerships to achieve sustainable development goals, exchange experiences and promote an integrated approach to human development.

The event, “Sanitation for Education and Health An integrated approach to human development, is an official side event for the 2018 High Level Political Forum (HLPF) taking place in New York this week and next. The HLPF is the United Nations central platform for follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This year, the HLPF is reviewing progress for SDG 6, among others, which is designed to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.

Deputy Director General for Planning at the Qatar Fund for Development at QFFD Ali Abdullah Al Dabbagh commented saying: “With this event, we aim to foster sharing of concrete and innovative multi-sectoral approaches that link sanitation, education and health.”

Executive Director of WSSCC Rolf Luyendijk said: “We know that the return on one year of secondary education for a girl correlates with as high as a 25% increase in wages later in life, among other benefits. We hope this event will serve as a call to action on water, sanitation and hygiene-related actions, funding and programming in schools which accelerate the benefits of investing in girls’ education.” Some 4.5 billion people around the world lack safely managed sanitation putting the health of all people, but especially children, at risk for diseases.