“Health facilities are where the vulnerable seek healing. But without adequate water, sanitation and hygiene, for many people, expected care can become unintended harm,” said Dr. Hans Kluge, World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Europe.
Dr. Stressing that the healthcare system “is being tested like never before”, Kluge insisted that strengthening it is an investment in resisting crises.
As part of this work, a UN-led meeting in Budapest this week resulted in more than 40 countries adopting a program to build more resilient and equitable water, sanitation and hygiene systems, often referred to collectively as WASH.
The 7th Session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol on Water and Health is jointly chaired by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the United Nations Health Agency.
The protocol on water and health remains the only legally binding international treaty explicitly links environmental protection, water management and public health. It has helped countries translate commitments into concrete improvements, such as expanding clean drinking water, protecting biodiversity and increasing disease surveillance.
However, major challenges remain. In addition to the 118 million people in Europe whose health facilities lack basic sanitation, another 70 million lack access to safely managed drinking water and 185 million do not have safe sanitation. These vulnerabilities only deepen as droughts, floods and cyber threats increasingly disrupt services.
“The Protocol is an example of how multilateral cooperation affects our everyday lives, but we still have a lot of work ahead,” said UNECE Executive Secretary Tatiana Molcean.
Practical tools, global relevance
The protocol includes a toolbox of evidence-based resources, such as a scorecard for equal access and water security planning, already in use in more than 30 countries. The international agreement has supported at least 1,500 facility assessments and helped inform policies in schools, hospitals and urban planning.
Countries across the pan-European region have pledged to ensure safe water and sanitation for all through commitments such as the Budapest Declaration and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), “but no one tells you how to do it. That is what the protocol has to offer,” emphasized Marta Vargha, Vice-President of the Protocol.
Concrete measures under the protocol include efforts to ensure safe water, sanitation and menstrual hygiene in schools; to monitor wastewater for dangerous viruses, including COVID-19; to tackle the spread of Legionella bacteria in domestic water systems and to develop plans for CO2 neutral water services.
Ahead of the UN climate summit in Brazil, UNECE called on governments to put water and sanitation systems at the heart of climate resilience – a message highlighted by Secretary-General António Guterres in a message to the meeting: “Progress on water and sanitation supports progress across multiple sustainable development goals.”
