Help us fight corruption in the water sector

Corruption interferes with people’s ability to access water. Being the world’s most precious resource, water is particularly susceptible to corruption. Where water is scarce, there’s a risk that it is not shared fairly. As a result, people are oftentimes asked to pay varying extra fees to get the water they need for their daily life without explanation.

Water governance

There are however, concrete ways to tackle corruption in the water sector. Recent examples of a programme driven by the UNDP-SIWI Water Governance Facility show that corruption can be addressed by educating people on how to make decisions on water in a transparent, accountable and inclusive way. These three principles, cornerstones of what we call Water Integrity, have in the Regional Capacity Building Programme on Water Integrity for the MENA region (WI-MENA) been successfully applied to improve accessibility of water in five countries: Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia.

As one of its outcomes, the Programme highlights the efforts of more than 50 water integrity champions, people who out of their own commitment have successfully fought corruption. Examples include Mey Alsayegh, a journalist from Lebanon who uses media to hold decision-makers accountable for water management; Mohamed Drihem, a retired high-school teacher from Morocco who now fights to make information about water distribution public; and Ahmad Merie, an accountant in Palestine who makes sure that equipment and material used for e.g. well-drilling is available for all.

Join the global movement against corruption! There’s three things you can do: get informed, get inspired, and get involved!

Get informed

Water Integrity and anti-corruption will be intensely discussed at an upcoming conference co-organized by the WI-MENA Programme and the Governance & Financing for the Mediterranean Water Sector project on the 12-14 December.

You can follow the livestream of the conference here on Facebook, or here on Youtube.

Get inspired

In the lead-up to International Anti-corruption day (9 December), we will share glimpses of successful anti-corruption efforts from the Middle East and Northern Africa. In their own words, our water integrity champions, identified in the Programme, explain why we need integrity and how we can fight corruption with it. Stay tuned to our social media channels!

Get involved

Do you have a water integrity story to share yourself? Tell us about it on social media and don’t forget to include the official hashtag of Anti-Corruption Day: #UnitedAgainstCorruption

The 2017 International Anti-Corruption Day focuses on corruption as one of the biggest impediments to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For more information, visit: http://www.anticorruptionday.org

#UnitedAgainstCorruption