Sanitation is the most off track Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target in Sub-Saharan Africa with seven out of 10 people in this region having no access to even a basic toilet, compared to the global figure of around 40% of the world's population (2.5 billion people) still lacking basic sanitation—we need to accelerate progress.Improving sanitation and hygiene are key targets, both important in themselves as well as for their potential public health benefits. The UK Government have water and sanitation programmes in 16 of the top 20 countries in terms of numbers of people without access to sanitation. The Department for International Development is committed to achieving a series of challenging targets over the next four years as part of an overall review of our work. These will contribute to the achievement of the MDG target of ensuring that 88% of people have access to safe drinking water and 75% to basic sanitation by 2015. They include 25 million more people having access to improved sanitation facilities and 15 million more people being reached by promoting the practise of good hygiene.I will be personally attending the High Level Meeting of the Sanitation and Water for All Partnership in Washington on 20 April, alongside the spring meetings of the World Bank. With the meetings taking place alongside one another it is helpful in securing the attendance of key decision-makers.