Urgent global and regional action to provide safe and sustainably managed water and sanitation for all to prevent catastrophic health impacts for millions of people is required.
Findings from the WHO and UN-Water Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking Water (GLAAS) report support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of providing water and sanitation for all by 2030. ) 6 indicates the need for acceleration in many countries.
45% of countries are on track to meet their national drinking water coverage targets, but only 25% are on track to meet their national sanitation targets. Fewer than a third of the countries reported having sufficient human resources necessary to perform their primary drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) functions.
The GLAAS 2022 report details the current status of WASH systems in over 120 countries and is the largest collection of data ever collected from the most countries.
Although some countries have increased WASH budgets, more than 75% of countries report insufficient funding to implement WASH plans and strategies.
“We face an imminent crisis. Inadequate access to safe drinking water, sanitation and sanitation kills millions each year, while climate-related extremes The increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events continue to hamper the delivery of safe WASH services.” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “We urge governments and development partners to strengthen WASH systems and dramatically increase investment to ensure access to safely managed drinking water and sanitation services by 2030, starting with the most vulnerable. We ask everyone to expand.”
However, GLAAS data show that most WASH policies and plans do not address the risks of climate change to WASH services, nor the climate resilience of WASH technologies and management systems. More than two-thirds of countries have implemented her WASH policy to reach out to those disproportionately impacted by climate change. However, only about a third monitor progress or allocate explicit funding to these groups.
“The world is well off track to achieve SDG 6 on water and sanitation by 2030. This will leave billions of people vulnerable to infectious diseases, especially in the aftermath of disasters, including climate-related events. ,” said Gilbert F. UN-Water Chair Honbo and Executive Director of the International Labor Organization. “GLAAS’ new data demonstrate the voluntary commitments the international community will make at his 2023 United Nations Water Conference in March to target the most vulnerable communities and address the global water and sanitation crisis. helps solve the.”
urgency and opportunity
The dire consequences of climate change and extreme weather events are drawing more attention to the issue, highlighting the urgent need for a whole-of-society approach and global cooperation to act together. The GLAAS 2022 report shows that countries making progress show high levels of political commitment and investment in improving safe WASH systems.
In the GLAAS 2022 report, WHO and UN-Water call on all governments and stakeholders to expand their support for WASH service delivery through enhanced governance, financing, oversight, regulation and capacity building. I’m here.
This report sets the stage for action ahead of the historic Water and Sanitation Conference scheduled for 2023. For the first time in 50 years, the international community, through the United Nations, commits to review progress and renew action on water and sanitation. with a global leader. The 2023 Conference for the Intermediate Comprehensive Review of the United Nations Decade for Action on Water and Sanitation (2018-2028), 22-24 March 2023 will be held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. .
Note to editors
The UN-Water Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water (GLAAS) data portal is now online at https://glaas.who.int.
About the World Health Organization
Dedicated to the well-being of all and guided by science, the World Health Organization leads and champions global efforts to provide equal opportunities to live safe and healthy lives everywhere. . Our mission is to promote health, keep the world safe and serve vulnerable people.
About UN Water
UN-Water coordinates the work of the United Nations on water and sanitation. UN-Water is a “regulation mechanism”. It consists of UN agencies (members) and international organizations (partners) working on water and sanitation issues. UN-Water’s role is to meet water-related challenges and enable its members and partners to work together to achieve results.