Sir, Overcrowded and congested
cities, poverty, slums, disease and a high incidence of child
mortality; social reformers, campaigners and celebrities calling for
action. Africa 2005? No, London 150 years ago. And then something
happened. The Government of the day willed the means and established
the institutions to deliver the ends.
The key was effective drainage to prevent sewage-laden waters
from contaminating water supplies. At a stroke the curse of cholera
was eliminated, the economy grew and the social and environmental
conditions of the population improved.
Will the communiqué from
the G8 at Gleneagles (letter, July 15) promising £30 billion in aid
lead to a similar change for poverty reduction for the developing
world?
Reducing poverty, child mortality, gender inequality, HIV/Aids,
and improving maternal health and the levels of primary education
are inextricably tied, just as they were 150 years ago, to the
provision and maintenance of water and sanitation for the urban
poor.
The UN target is to provide one billion people with safe water by
2015. It will call for the engineering profession to work in
partnerships with other key stakeholders — communities, governments,
NGOs, international agencies and financial institutions. It will
require appropriate, equitable and corruption-free procurement
processes. It will need to build local engineering capacity. And it
will involve harnessing the energy and commitment of the world’s
youth.
“Engineering without Frontiers”, an operational platform for such
collaboration and delivery, has been established by the Institution
of Civil Engineers. Its engineering principles for development and
poverty reduction have received support from the Secretary of State
for International Development and the endorsement of 25 engineering
and related professional institutions worldwide.
Civil engineering’s community of individuals, companies and the
profession at large has the necessary technical, organisational,
logistical and project management skills. It has the people. It is
developing the joint venture partnerships. Will us the means, and we
will deliver the UN development goals by 2015.
PAUL JOWITT
Westminster,
London
