The UN Water Conference, co-hosted by Tajikistan and the Netherlands, took place for the first time in almost 50 years. The conference brought together governments, intergovernmental organisations, international financial institutions, the scientific community, representatives from civil society and other stakeholders. It comes at a crucial moment in which we need to accelerate water action if we want to stay on track with global climate and development commitments.
Ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all is one of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals to be achieved by 2030. The scale of the issue is a challenge in itself. What makes it even worse is that insufficient financing and weak government systems hold many countries back from making needed advancements. Based on data from 20 developing countries and territories, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs reports a funding gap of 61% for achieving water and sanitation targets.
The European Investment Bank, one of the largest lenders to the global water sector to date, contributed to the conference through a delegation led by Ambroise Fayolle, EIB Vice-President overseeing climate action.
Find out more information in our media advisory
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