Stories

The World Water Day 2023 campaign - set to run for the rest of this year - is all about how to be the change you want to see in the world by taking small, personal water actions that will ...

Cooperation on water is vital for sustainable development and the ongoing fight against the impacts of climate change. On the launch day for the The United Nations World Water Development Report (WWDR) 2023: Partnerships and cooperation for water, three experts ...

Around 8,000 hummingbirds landed in New York last week during the UN 2023 Water Conference at UN Headquarters. These colourful, origami creations were made by children all around the world as part of the ‘Be the change’ campaign for World ...

Did you know that a group of hummingbirds can be called a shimmer, charm or bouquet? You and your class can now participate in the creation of a bouquet of hummingbirds, a colourful installation of origami birds created by students ...

To raise awareness of the importance of water, the United Nations Chamber Music Society has premiered a musical piece called Archimedes’s Dreams, written by American composer Evan Fein. The classical piece is an ode to the ancient scientist Archimedes, whose ...

In a statement for World Water Day, March 22, the organizations behind World Migratory Bird Day urge decision-makers at the UN 2023 Water Conference to reflect on the significance of water for migratory birds. Migratory birds rely on water and ...

David Cooper, Acting Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, marked World Water Day 2023 by reminding the world that our lives depend on water, and water depends on biodiversity. In a video statement, Mr. Cooper highlighted that rivers ...

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) call on all nations to radically accelerate action to make water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) a reality for all. In a joint statement released on World Water Day ...

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has marked World Water Day by highlighting its efforts to conserve and manage water in communities facing hunger and conflict. The WFP helps communities make the most of every drop of water by ...

The star of the two-minute animated film for World Water Day 2023 is the hummingbird. In the ancient tale, the hummingbird is faced with a great fire and, rather than stand and stare, decides to act - trying to put ...

A new video from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) gives us eight actions we can all take to save water. How we shop, eat, cook and clean can have a big impact on precious water ...

The UN Department of Social and Economic Affairs (UN DESA) has created a resource of simple actions and activities you can take to help accelerate change and raise awareness of the water and sanitation crisis. Try these two in the ...

The Joint SDG (Sustainable Development Goal) Fund’s CLimatE Adaptation and mitigatioN (CLEAN) financing mechanism aims to leverage US$10 million in private capital for the development of commercially viable, inclusive and climate sensitive water, sanitation and hygiene and sustainable water management ...

Thanks to a project by the International Labour Organization (ILO), funded by the Japan Government, which employed local people to build waterworks, Yasin Muhumad Faarah now has a reliable, resilient water supply in his village in Jigjiga, Somali region, Ethiopia ...

For the seventh year in a row, the Lions Club Seregno AID, Italy, is holding a World Water Day Photo Contest focusing on this year’s theme of ‘Accelerating Change’. Ten judges from all over the world will choose winners from ...

Staff members from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) are running or walking 5 to 10km on World Water Day (22 March) as a way of raising global awareness of the ever-increasing freshwater shortages the world is ...

A new blog post on GlobalGoals.org is promoting youth activism and mobilization for water as a way to drive faster towards a more sustainable future. The post titled "Youth Mobilising for Water: Together Let's #FillUpTheGlass" highlights the ongoing challenges faced ...

New York Water Week will take place alongside the UN 2023 Water Conference being held at UN Headquarters in New York City. An initiative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Department of Environmental Protection, City of New York ...

The UN-hosted Sanitation and Water for All global partnership (SWA) released a new handbook that supports parliamentarians in advancing the human rights to water and sanitation and promotes the achievement of UN Sustainable Development Goal 6 worldwide. As we approach ...

The International Labour Organization (ILO) and its partner ALIGHT have completed rehabilitation of three water points and a health centre serving host and refugee communities in Kharsana, Keliak and Al-Meiram localities in West Kordofan, Sudan. These infrastructure assets were rehabilitated ...

Applications are open to join the largest global community of sanitation entrepreneurs dedicated to making an impact on SDG 6.2 - safely managed sanitation for all by 2030. The Toilet Board Coalition’s Accelerator matches entrepreneurs working in small- to medium-sized ...

This article from the International Labour Organization (ILO) tells the story of Saida Zouaoui, a farmer from Teburnuk in Tunisia. She helped in the rebuilding of a local dam, enabling her village to store enough water for drinking and growing ...

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) recently launched a feature on their Space4Water Portal called Indigenous Voices. Indigenous communities' cultural heritage and knowledge about natural resources, including water, urgently needs to be considered and protected. This feature ...

The new edition of the UN World Water Development Report (UN WWDR) 2023, Partnerships and Cooperation for Water, will be launched on World Water Day, 22 March. At current rates of progress, Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 – water and ...

One of the main outcomes of the UN 2023 Water Conference, 22-24 March, is the Water Action Agenda. The Agenda is the collection of all voluntary commitments to accelerate progress in the second halves of both the Water Action Decade ...

Mina Guli is an Australian businesswoman, ultrarunner and advocate dedicated to solving the global water crisis. Mina founded the RUN BLUE campaign that inspires companies and connects people to take meaningful action on water in the lead-up to UN 2023 ...

Water Science Policy, under the patronage of UNESCO’s World Water Assessment Program, is running a photo story competition ahead of the UN 2023 Water Conference (22-24 March). In the words of the organizers: “A picture tells a thousand words. Across ...

The Toilet Board Coalition (TBC) believes the fastest way to solve the sanitation crisis is to turn it into an economic opportunity, led by local-market entrepreneurs, guided by multinational corporation mentors. Through its world-renowned Accelerator, the TBC provides business model ...

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the World Bank, launch the report State of the world's drinking water: An urgent call to action to accelerate progress on ensuring safe drinking water for all ...

Despite efforts to promote hand hygiene, the rates of access to hand hygiene facilities remain stubbornly low. If current rates of progress continue, by the end of the SDG era in 2030, 1.9 billion people will still lack facilities to ...

The UN-hosted Sanitation and Water for All global partnership (SWA) has released the findings of a global study on external perceptions of water, sanitation and hygiene, as well as barriers to driving political prioritization and investment. Conducted by Browning Environmental ...

Anzonetta Janice Joan Slaven-Schwalger, who lost her children in the 2009 Samoa earthquake and tsunami, recalls: “There was no preparation in the village… preparations were only made in the town area, [and] there were no warnings in the villages, no ...

The Global Water Operators’ Partnerships Alliance (GWOPA) Secretariat and UNICEF Ethiopia have entered into an agreement to strengthen the capacity of new water service providers in Bidre, Bulle, and Doyo Gena Towns located in the Oromia and SNNPR Regions of ...

The UN-hosted Sanitation and Water for All partnership (SWA) has launched an international campaign which calls for just and equitable delivery of water and sanitation services. The #JusticeBeginsHere campaign invites individuals and organizations from all sectors to tackle the structural ...

The International Labour Organization (ILO) together with the Embassy of Japan in Ethiopia have launched a project to enhance disaster resilience through employment intensive water works, supported by the Government of Japan, in Kebribeyah and Jijiga town, Somali regional state ...

A report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) provides the first overview of the state of global water resources in order to assess the effects of climate, environmental and societal change on the Earth’s water resources. This flagship publication gives ...

Climate vulnerability and food insecurity threaten the already conflict-torn areas in the Middle East and North Africa. In Iraq, infrequent rainfall and rising temperatures in recent years have especially worsened water scarcity. People are increasingly driven to migrate from rural ...