8 January 2010
ANEW and WaterAid hosted a colourful ceremony to officially recognize President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf as the first Goodwill Ambassador for Water and Sanitation in Africa.
The ceremony was attended by four Ministers, UN representatives, National and International organizations and other stakeholders.
In a recorded acceptance speech, President Johnson-Sirleaf said: "We know that worldwide one out of every four deaths under age is due to water-related diseases. We also know that 80% of illnesses are linked to poor water and sanitation conditions in our developing nations. We must do more to reverse this trend."
This initiative has been recognized by AMCOW and other partners and there was a call for identifying more water and sanitation ambassadors.