28 June 2013: Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) and Viet Nam signed the ‘Vientiane Declaration’ to support and scale up efforts under the UN Human Settlements’ (UN-HABITAT) Mekong Region Water and Sanitation (MEK-WATSAN) Initiative. The Initiative supports the three Mekong region countries in their efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on water and sanitation.

The Declaration calls on donors to provide increased funding for the Initiative to ensure continued progress towards the MDGs on water and sanitation, as well as to support the Initiative’s overall sustainability, including for post-MDG targets formulated as part of the post-2015 development agenda. During its first phase, the Initiative provided over 400,000 people in 30 towns throughout the region with safe drinking water and basic sanitation.

UN-HABITAT, the three Governments and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) established the Initiative in 2005, with financial support from the Netherlands. Government representatives signed the declaration at a regional consultation meeting, which was held in Vientiane, Lao PDR, from 24-25 June 2013, to mark the completion of phase 1 of MEK-WATSAN. Participants at the consultation reviewed the achievements of the Initiative at the country and regional levels, and shared lessons learned. [UN-HABITAT Press Release]