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“The Water Summit in March must result in a bold Water Action Agenda that gives our world’s lifeblood the commitment it deserves.”<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Antonio Guterres<\/strong>, Secretary-General of the United Nations<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Water is at the core of sustainable development. It is essential <\/span>for <\/span>human well-being, energy and food production, healthy ecosystems, gender equality, poverty reduction and more. Access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene (<\/span>SDG 6<\/a><\/span>) is the most basic human need for health and well-being.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But decades of misuse, poor management, overextraction of groundwater and contamination of freshwater supplies have exacerbated water stress. This leads to negative impacts on human health, economic activities, and food and energy supplies.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The world is facing a crisis of \u201ctoo much water\u201d (extreme rainfalls and flooding), \u201ctoo little water\u201d (droughts and groundwater scarcity) and \u201ctoo dirty water\u201d (pollution). Urgent action is needed to ensure a sustainable and equitable distribution of water for all needs. This month\u2019s <\/span>Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ 2023 Water Conference will be a once-in-a-generation opportunity to raise awareness, define a roadmap and advance the water agenda.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Gaps<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Billions of people around the world still lack access to safely managed drinking water. Universal access to water is key for global health as we\u2019ve seen with the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. However,\u00a0 more than <\/span>800,000 people die each year<\/a><\/span> from diseases directly attributed to unsafe water, inadequate sanitation, and poor hygiene practices. Many around the world still lack access to basic hand washing facilities and services. Without water, sanitation and hygiene, people\u2019s wellbeing, and opportunities are severely compromised, particularly women and girls\u2019.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Water is needed across all sectors to produce food, energy, combat climate change, provide healthy ecosystem services, and more. But with growing demands for water and mounting pressures from agriculture, energy and climate, water resources are severely stressed. <\/span>Over the past 300 years<\/a><\/span>, over 85 per cent of the planet\u2019s wetlands have been lost, mainly through drainage and land conversion, with many remaining wetland areas degraded. <\/span>Water stress levels<\/a><\/span> in Southern Asia and Central Asia registered at over 75 per cent, whereas Northern Africa registered a critical water stress level of over 80 per cent.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Moving forward<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n At the current rates of progress, 1.6 billion people will lack safely managed drinking water, 2.8 billion people will lack safely managed sanitation, and 1.9 billion people will lack basic hand hygiene facilities in 2030.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>To reach universal access to drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene by 2030 for all, the current rates of progress need to increase fourfold.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ 2023 WATER CONFERENCE<\/span> \u2013 (22<\/span>\u00a0–\u00a0<\/span>24 March)<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n This month, the world will come together in New York to tackle water-related issues during the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ 2023 Water Conference. The Kingdom of the\u00a0<\/span>Netherlands and\u00a0\u00a0the Republic of Tajikistan<\/span>, co-hosts of the Conference, are committed to make the event a watershed moment that will bring stakeholders from all sectors together and that will create a global momentum for accelerated implementation and improved impact to advance the broad challenges surrounding water. The primary aim of the Conference is to decide on the concerted and game-changing actions needed to achieve the internationally agreed water-related goals and targets, including those contained in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Issues under discussion include health, cooperation across borders, resilience and climate, human rights and water governance.\u00a0 A full programme of the Conference can be found <\/span>here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Water Action Agenda\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The main outcome of the Conference will be <\/span>the Water Action Agenda<\/a><\/span> that will capture all water-related voluntary commitments from the Conference. The Agenda will encourage Member States and stakeholders across all sectors to unify and address today\u2019s global water challenges. Learn more about the Water Action Agenda <\/span>here<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Registration & Media Accreditation<\/p>\n Registration for the Conference <\/strong>is now <\/span>open!<\/a><\/span> Media accreditation<\/strong> online is now open until 10 March 2023 (more information is available here: <\/span>Media Advisory<\/a><\/span>)<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n Get Involved: <\/span>#WaterActions That You Can Take<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Water is everyone\u2019s business. Everyone can do their part to reverse the degradation of water by taking simple actions that can help protect this vital resource. Play your role in <\/span>#wateractions<\/a><\/span> to be part of the solution:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n #Social Media<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n
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What to Watch For<\/b><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div>
<\/i><\/i><\/span>Indigenous and Youth Solutions for Clean Water: a Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ DESA Global Policy Dialogue (9 March)<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>
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\n Join Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ DESA for a virtual Global Policy Dialogue on “Youth and Indigenous Solutions for Clean Water,” highlighting ways to improve water access for better health and for improving resiliency. By raising the voices of youth and Indigenous Peoples, this event aims to underscore the intersectionality of the issues these vulnerable groups face and showcase their innovative solutions to the water crisis. Register here: https:\/\/bit.ly\/dialogue9march<\/a><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>