19 Jul 2012

UN Rapporteur calls on Tuvalu to develop national water strategy

7:21 pm on 19 July 2012

The United Nations Special Rapporteur is suggesting the government of Tuvalu adopt and implement a national water strategy and plan of action to address a lack of water and adequate sanitation.

Catarina de Albuquerque visited Tuvalu this week to examine human rights in relation to access to water and sanitation.

Ms Albuquerque says although research from 2010 concluded that 98 percent of the population had access to improved water sources and 85 percent had access to better sanitation facilities, people are still facing severe challenges.

She says people are lacking water on a continuous basis and cannot drink it directly from storage tanks without boiling it.