Water and sanitation for all: is the glass half empty or half full?

In 1977, the first Apple II computers were sold and the first Star Wars movie premiered. But did you know that 1977 was also the year of the first ever United Nations Water Conference, held in Mar del Plata, Argentina?

Almost fifty years later, where are we now on the issue of water and sanitation for all? Is the glass half empty or half full?

The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2022 presents us with alarming figures regarding water, noting that to meet the drinking water, sanitation and basic hygiene targets by 2030, we must work four times faster to get back on track. At current rates, 1.6 billion people will lack safely managed drinking water and 2.8 billion people will lack safely managed sanitation in 2030.

The ongoing water crisis threatens all aspects of life, yet despite these challenges, water presents a great opportunity too. Given the strong interlinkages between water and other SDGs, water can be the dealmaker and leverage point for climate resilience, a green economy, and a more sustainable and inclusive world for all.

UN 2023 Water Conference

Next year, from 22 to 24 March 2023, the world will come together and unite for water once again. The UN 2023 Water Conference, to be held at the UN Headquarters in New York, provides a decisive opportunity to galvanize action on water for sustainable development and mobilize voluntary commitments in the form of a Water Action Agenda.

UN DESA, as the Secretariat of the Conference, with the support of UN-Water, together with co-hosts, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Republic of Tajikistan, will strive to make the Conference a global watershed moment. There is no doubt that the Conference comes at a critical time, as 2023 also marks the mid-point in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs.

Preparatory Meeting - Save the Date!

To lay the groundwork for the 2023 Water Conference, the President of the 77th Session of the General Assembly, Csaba Kőrösi, will organize a Preparatory Meeting for the UN 2023 Water Conference on 25 October 2022 at UN Headquarters in New York. The themes for the interactive dialogues will be finalized and the meeting will also address other outstanding organizational matters of the Conference.

To ensure meaningful participation of all relevant stakeholders, the one-day preparatory meeting will be preceded by a hybrid stakeholder consultation on 24 October 2022.

Can’t wait for this? UN DESA has opened a global online stakeholder consultation to collect inputs on the five themes that have been proposed by the co-hosts for the interactive dialogues that will be featured at the UN 2023 Water Conference.

For more information, please visit the UN 2023 Water Conference website.

Photo credit: UN Photo/Fred Noy