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In 2005, The Senator Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act was signed into law, making safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) a US foreign policy priority. In the years since, millions of lives have improved thanks to an increase in WASH services, while other governments have done their part to move toward meeting every human being’s right to safe drinking water and safe sanitation.

Now, nearly 10 years later, amending legislation known as The Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act seeks to refine and improve the current law. This new legislation will make better use of existing WASH funds. Additionally, it will strengthen accountability for WASH programs already underway, making certain that activities are done as efficiently as possible. Combined, these two improvements will ensure the greatest impact on communities worldwide, without spending new dough.

As the US Campaigns Associate I’ve spent the past few months working to build support for the Water for the World Act. Suffice it to say I’ve had a lot of time to perfect my elevator pitch, so allow me to break it down for you.

The Water for the World Act will:

1. Ensure WASH remains a policy priority for the US government. We can’t afford to drop the ball while millions of people living in poverty still lack access to water and sanitation.

2. Make sure that limited funds are directed to the countries and communities most in need.

3. Support integration with other critical interventions, including child survival, global health, food security and nutrition, and gender equality. As we’ve mentioned on Global Citizen countless times, health, sanitation, and other issues are all interconnected. Addressing all of these issue areas, while seeking out opportunities for integration, is the best way we can create lasting impact.

4. Improve monitoring and evaluation techniques and focus on securing non-Federal partnerships and funds so we can accomplish more.

5. Improve the US strategic approach by clarifying the responsibilities of USAID and the State Department. Long story short, we want to ensure absolute transparency. To that end countries will be required to maintain transparency in their priorities, field programs will require reports, and progress will be regularly measured.

So it’s not quite an elevator pitch, more of an elevator speech- but you get the picture. The Water for the World Act is going to accomplish a lot, and it’s imperative it gets our full support.

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Judith Rowland