UN System-wide Strategy for Water and Sanitation

As the UN states, 'With just seven years to go until the end of the 2030 Agenda, swift and purposeful action is needed to change course and accelerate progress on SDG 6, to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.

Responding to the high level of ambition set by UN Member States and stakeholders at the UN 2023 Water Conference and the Water Action Agenda, UN-Water released the milestone 'Blueprint for Acceleration: SDG 6 Synthesis Report on Water and Sanitation 2023'.

As a result, in September 2023, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution (A/RES/77/334) that, among other requirements, requested the UN Secretary-General to present to Member States the first-ever UN System-wide Strategy for Water and Sanitation, for which the UN Secretary-General relied on UN-Water’s assistance.'

UN System-wide Strategy for Water and Sanitation

The United Nations System-wide Strategy for Water and Sanitation unites the UN system’s work towards a world with access, availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all people and the planet. It provides a system-wide approach for UN entities to work collaboratively on water and sanitation, not as a sector in a ‘silo’, but holistically to address the inter-related cross-sectoral aspects of water and sanitation.

The goal of the System-wide Strategy is to enhance the coordination and delivery of water and sanitation priorities in support of countries to accelerate progress on national plans and priorities, internationally agreed water-related goals and targets, the realization of human rights, and transformative solutions to current and future challenges for the benefit of people and the planet. Its aim is to fully operationalise inter-agency coordination, capitalise on reforms of the United Nations development system, and leverage upscaled water and sanitation action of UN entities to provide more strategic, effective, coherent, and efficient support to Member States.

Download the United Nations System-wide Strategy for Water and Sanitation here