The UN Water Conference, which opened on Wednesday, is taking place as this vital natural resource is being depleted, polluted and mismanaged. The three-day event – co-hosted by the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Tajikistan – falls at the halfway point for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which include the promise of ensuring all…
Some two billion people still have no access to safe drinking water and 3.6 billion, use sanitation services that leave human waste untreated. Access to safe water and sanitation offer a pathway to social and economic progress by supporting community health and productivity. From solutions to actions The world needs to progress four times faster…
As the UN Water Conference continues at UN headquarters in New York, Simona Marinescu, the UN Resident Coordinator in Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa and Tokelau explains why finding a solution to provide all people access to clean and safe water remains a priority for the UN. “Water is life. No other definition captures quite so aptly…
The crisis has left families in the flood-affected areas with no choice but to use potentially contaminated water. “Safe drinking water is not a privilege, it is a basic human right”, said UNICEF Representative in Pakistan, Abdullah Fadil. “Yet, every day, millions of girls and boys in Pakistan are fighting a losing battle against preventable…
Launched ahead of the UN 2023 Water Conference, the new edition of the UN World Water Development Report focuses on twin themes of partnerships and cooperation. Published by the UN Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the report highlights collaborative ways actors can work together to overcome common challenges. “There is an urgent need to…
For many runners, taking part in a marathon is a challenge of a lifetime or, if they’re particularly keen, an annual test of endurance. Mina Guli is built differently: over the past year, she has been running four marathons of 26.2 miles each, every week, across the world, racking up a total of 200 long-distance…
In an ancient Peruvian folktale, a hummingbird fetches water to put out a forest fire, one drop at a time. The other animals look on and laugh at her. Then, the little bird replies, “I’m doing what I can.” The tale inspired UN-Water, which coordinates the world body’s work on water and sanitation, to launch…
Water is at the core of sustainable development. It supports all aspects of life on Earth, and access to safe and clean water is a basic human right. However, decades of mismanagement and misuse have intensified water stress, threatening the many aspects of life that depend on this crucial resource. Clean water is essential to…
Water distribution process will be monitored 24 hours: Photo: File Mecca: 40 million liters of Zamzam water will be distributed in Masjid al-Haram during Ramadan. According to the official news agency of Saudi Arabia, the administration of the Haram Sharif has arranged 30 thousand coolers for the distribution of Zamzam water to the pilgrims. Water…
Bringing together Governments, institutions, banks, businesses, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), youth, women, indigenous peoples and many other stakeholders from around the world, the UN 2023 Water Conference (22 to 24 March) will seek to find game-changing solutions to the multifaceted global crisis of ‘too much water’, such as storms and floods; ‘too little water’, such as…
