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Call for Action on Water

January 21, 2016¡ªThe Secretary-General of the United Nations and the President of the World Bank jointly announce their intention to form a new panel to mobilize urgent action towards the sustainable development goal for water and sanitation () and related targets. [1]

The announcement comes as countries experience water stress and water-related disasters that will grow worse due to climate change without better policy decisions.

¡°Water is a precious resource, crucial to realizing the SDGs, which at their heart aim to eradicate poverty,¡± said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. ¡°The new Panel can help motivate the action we need to turn ideas into reality. The United Nations system, including through UN Water and the United Nations development system¡¯s universal operational presence, is committed to promote inclusive and country-led action on SDG6 and related targets.¡±

The panel, to be co-chaired by the Presidents of Mauritius and Mexico, will comprise a group of heads of State/Government from developed and developing countries, convened by the United Nations Secretary-General and the President of the World Bank Group to:

• Motivate Action ¨C Focus public policy dialogue, private sector models and practices and civil society initiatives towards the Water SDG; and
• Advocate on financing and implementation ¨C Promote efforts to mobilize financial resources and scale-up investment for the Water SDG, including through innovative financing and implementation strategies.

¡°Achieving the water global goal would have multiple benefits, including laying the foundations for food and energy security, sustainable urbanization, and ultimately climate security¡± said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim. ¡°My hope is that this panel accelerates action in many countries so that we can make water more accessible to all.¡±

ľ¹ÏÓ°Ôº and UN will facilitate access to a variety of technical organizations to support the panel, including OECD, Stockholm International Water Institute, World Economic Forum, World Water Council, and World Resources Institute.

[1] Sustainable Development Goal 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.

Last Updated: Jan 21, 2016

Facts and Figures

• Water scarcity affects more than 40 percent of the global population and is projected to rise.
• Floods and other water-related disasters account for 70 percent of all deaths related to natural disasters.
• Over 1.7 billion people are currently living in river basins where water use exceeds recharge.
• More than 80 percent of wastewater resulting from human activities is discharged into rivers or sea without any pollution removal.
• 2.4 billion people lack access to basic sanitation services, such as toilets or latrines.
• Each day, nearly 1,000 children die due to preventable water and sanitation-related diarrheal diseases.

Last Updated: Jan 21, 2016