RESULTS grassroots volunteers have published more than 100 letters and opinion pieces in newspapers across Canada, highlighting the devastation and extent of the global sanitation crisis. We've raised the profile of sanitation on Parliament Hill - through rallies, lobby days, letters and dozens of meetings with parliamentarians.
The year 2008 was the UN's "International Year of Sanitation" and gave RESULTS Canada's volunteers the opportunity to make sanitation a focal point of advocacy with Members of Parliament, the media and policy advisors at the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). While no announcements were made to mark the year of sanitation, RESULTS Canada's efforts made some inroads and will continue to do so.
In early 2009, we led a parliamentary delegation to Bangladesh with Canadian MPs from the PC, Liberal and NDP parties that highlighted sanitation challenges and solutions - and, as a result, were successful in creating new champions on the Hill on this issue.
As part of our sanitation work, RESULTS Canada was a founding member of SWAN - the Sanitation and Water Action Network. SWAN Canada is a coalition of Canadian non-governmental organizations united in the belief that improving global access to safe, affordable, and sustainable water supply and sanitation services must be a foreign aid priority for the Government of Canada. Members come together with one voice to effect change and positively influence policy.
