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Coronavirus global health emergency

This page brings together water and sanitation-related information from UN-Water Members and Partners in the light of the coronavirus global emergency. UN-Water is working to ensure the most up-to-date information, resources and guidance as they become available.

UN-Water Joint Statement: 31st Special Session of the General Assembly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic

 

UN-Water Members

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

  • BRIEF: Technical brief on water, sanitation, hygiene and wastewater management to prevent infections and reduce the spread of antimicrobial resistance
  • BRIEF: The dual threat of extreme weather and the COVID-19 crisis: Anticipating the impacts on food availability
  • ARTICLE: Thinking the unthinkable: harnessing the pandemic to Improve SDG 6 capacity development
  • DISCUSSION PAPER: SMART IRRIGATION – SMART WASH Solutions in response to the pandemic crisis in Africa

International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)

  • ARTICLE: Building up family farmers’ resilience through nature-based solutions in Latin America and the Caribbean

International Labour Organization (ILO)

  • PUBLICATION: Safety and health at work 2020 – stop the pandemic: safety and health at work can save lives
  • BLOG: Hand washing at work – the key to staying safe
  • STORY: Clean water for life and livelihoods amid pandemic
  • POLICY BRIEF: Hand hygiene at the workplace: an essential occupational safety and health prevention and control measure against COVID-19
  • STORY: Safe water, decent work in BARMM amid COVID-19

International Organization for Migration (IOM)

  • VIDEO: Addressing COVID-19 in Ethiopia through clean water and good hygiene
  • NEWSLETTER: Special edition newsletter on fighting COVID-19 with water and sanitation
  • STORY: Supplying clean water to Yemen’s largest displacement camp
  • POLICY BRIEF: UN Network on Migration: Enhancing access to services for migrants in the context of COVID-19 preparedness, prevention, and response and beyond

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

  • ARTICLE: Everything you need to know about washing your hands to protect against COVID-19
  • PRESS RELEASE: Handwashing with soap, critical in the fight against coronavirus, is ‘out of reach’ for billions
  • TECHNICAL NOTE: WASH Programme contribution to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) prevention and response
  • GUIDANCE NOTE: Understanding hygiene promotion in the context of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak
  • TECHNICAL NOTE: Monitoring and mitigating the secondary impacts of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on WASH services availability and access
  • ARTICLE: Protecting the most vulnerable children from the impact of coronavirus: an agenda for action
  • ARTICLE: Rohingya children fight back against COVID-19, one pair of hands at a time
  • PRESS RELEASE: Over 5 million children face threat of cholera and acute water diarrhea in the midst of COVID-19 as Yemen gets heavy rains
  • BRIEF: Mitigating the impacts of COVID-19 on menstrual health and hygiene
  • WEBINAR: Period pivots: Exploring changing business models within Menstrual Health & Hygiene (MHH), 18 May
  • PRESS RELEASE: UN Humanitarian flight arrives in Venezuela with nutrition, water, hygiene and sanitation supplies
  • ARTICLE: A wake-up call: COVID-19 and its impact on children’s health and wellbeing
  • UNICEF/WHO REPORT: Progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene in schools report – special focus on COVID-19
  • UNICEF/WHO REPORT: State of the world’s sanitation. An urgent call to transform sanitation for better health, environments, economies and societies

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)

  • STRATEGY: Supporting the Global Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Land-based Solutions for
    Healthy People and a Healthy Planet

United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA)

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

  • ARTICLE: Dovetailing disasters: how COVID-19 is compounding risk for Cambodian communities
  • ARTICLE: How to soften the impact of coronavirus during conflict
  • BLOG: For a lack of soap and clean water, disease flourishes
  • ARTICLE: For planet, for people: UNDP-supported ecosystem-based adaptation project in Lao PDR moves forward with the backing of the Global Environment Facility
  • ARTICLE: Continuing vital health services in Guinea-Bissau during COVID-19

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)

  • RESOURCES: COVID-19: the role of the Water Convention and the Protocol on Water and Health

United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA)

  • POLICY BRIEF: The Impact of COVID-19 on the Arab Region An Opportunity to Build Back Better

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

  • STORY: Albania: how a lagoon became a frontline defence against climate change
  • STORY: UNEP helps countries monitor sustainable development progress on water, despite COVID-19 challenges
  • STORY: How monitoring sewage could prevent a return of the coronavirus

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

  • ARTICLE: Green economies, a bulwark against COVID 19 for Lake Chad communities

United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women)

  • ARTICLE: As Bangladesh battles COVID-19 and the aftermath of Super Cyclone Amphan, women’s organizations lead their communities through recovery

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

  • Technical WASH guidance for COVID-19 preparedness and response in refugee settings
  • WASH and energy checklist for health facilities in refugee camps/settlements
  • Key UNHCR activities for COVID-19 Preparedness and Response
  • PRESS RELEASE: As COVID-19 pandemic continues, forcibly displaced children need more support than ever
  • ARTICLE: COVID-19: UNHCR warns of severe implications for annual monsoon response in Bangladesh
  • ARTICLE: Space, shelter and scarce resources – coping with COVID-19

United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR)

  • NEWS RELEASE: COVID-19: Do not forget internally displaced persons, UN expert urges Governments worldwide
  • NEWS: COVID-19 will not be stopped without providing safe water to people living in vulnerability – UN experts
  • ARTICLE: Kenya’s informal settlements need safe water to survive COVID-19

United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat)

  • STORY: What water and sanitation operators can do in the fight against COVID-19
  • STORY: Water for handwashing in slums is critical to prevent COVID-19 spreading
  • VIDEO: from one of Nairobi’s informal settlements on handwashing support
  • STORY: Youth in Nairobi slum use murals to educate the community about COVID-19
  • TECHNICAL NOTE: Interim technical note on water, sanitation and hygiene for COVID-19 response in slums and informal urban settlements
  • OUTCOME BRIEF: Webinar ‘crisis management: strategy, assessment and decision-making’

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)

United Nations University (UNU)

World Bank Group

  • BLOG POST: Handwashing with soap – a life-saving act
  • BLOG POST: Latin America moving fast to ensure water services during COVID-19
  • DOCUMENT: Water, sanitation, and hygiene. The first line of defense in the battle against COVID-19
  • BLOG POST: On inflation and water tariffs: what are the trends?
  • BLOG POST: Natural disasters and vulnerable groups: Insights for an inclusive and sustainable recovery from COVID-19
  • BLOG POST: Let’s talk about disaster risk during COVID-19
  • BLOG POST: Leveraging Sudan’s natural resources against COVID-19 and locust swarms
  • BLOG POST: Examining the pandemic’s impact on the irrigation and drainage sector and opportunities for recovery

World Food Programme (WFP)

  • ARTICLE: A vaccine may come for coronavirus — but there isn’t one for climate change
  • BLOG: Why sustainable food systems are needed in a post-COVID world

World Health Organization (WHO)

  • TECHNICAL BRIEF (WHO/UNICEF): Water, sanitation, hygiene and waste management for COVID-19
  • DOCUMENT: Strengthening preparedness for COVID-19 in cities and urban settings
  • OPEN WHO: free, open-access learning platform for health emergencies, with 10 online courses related to COVID-19
  • WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY MEETING: Meeting the challenge of COVID-19: achieving sustainable WASH-safe health care facilities in the 2020s, 21 May
  • STORY: WHO manifesto for a healthy recovery from COVID-19
  • DOCUMENT: Cleaning and disinfection of environmental surfaces in the context of COVID-19: interim guidance
  • DOCUMENT: Water, sanitation, hygiene, and waste management for the COVID-19 virus: interim guidance
  • DOCUMENT: Recommendations to Member States to improve hand hygiene practices to help prevent the transmission of the COVID-19 virus: interim guidance
  • BRIEF: Technical brief on water, sanitation, hygiene and wastewater management to prevent infections and reduce the spread of antimicrobial resistance
  • HIGHLIGHT: Hygiene: UN-Water GLAAS findings on national policies, plans, targets and finance
  • UNICEF/WHO REPORT: Progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene in schools report – special focus on COVID-19
  • SCIENTIFIC BRIEF: Status of environmental surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 virus
  • GUIDANCE: Water, sanitation, hygiene, and waste management for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19
  • UNICEF/WHO REPORT: State of the world’s sanitation. An urgent call to transform sanitation for better health, environments, economies and societies
  • UNICEF/WHO REPORT: The measurement and monitoring of water supply, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) affordability: a missing element of monitoring of sustainable development goal (SDG) targets 6.1 and 6.2

World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

  • ARTICLE: Economic slowdown as a result of COVID is no substitute for climate action
  • ARTICLE: Tropical cyclone Harold challenges disaster and public health management

UN-Water Partners with Special Status

Sanitation and Water for All (SWA)

  • WEBINAR: Making WASH a political and financial priority in times of COVID-19
  • Information on SWA webinar series on COVID-19 and WASH
  • DOCUMENTS: Key documents and resources on COVID-19 and WASH (resources available in English, French and Spanish)
  • CALL TO ACTION: World leaders’ call to action on COVID-19
  • STATEMENT: Water, sanitation and hygiene: world leaders call for action on COVID-19

UN Global Compact | CEO Water Mandate

United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation

  • VIDEO: COVID19 and adequate sanitation (available in French, English and Spanish)
  • Statement by the Special Rapporteur on human rights to water and sanitation 

UN-Water Partners

Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology (CAWST)

  • TECHNICAL BRIEF: COVID-19 Summary for Sanitation Professionals

Global Water Partnership (GWP)

  • Scaling up commitment to meet planetary crises
  • Call from Global Water Partnership West Africa (GWP-WA) for the fight against the pandemic
  • Call for higher ambition of adaption and inclusion of climate resilient water security in COVID-19 economic recovery plans

International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR)

IHE Delft

  • OPINION: The coronavirus pandemic will impact global security

IRC WASH

  • ARTICLE: Strengthening water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) systems
  • ARTICLE: How to avoid a 20-year setback in the water and sanitation sector
  • ARTICLE: How civil society is adapting WASH advocacy to COVID-19
  • BLOG: Hygiene promotion should be a long-term effort

International Water Association (IWA)

  • ARTICLE: COVID-19 and ‘chasing for water’ – water access in poor urban spaces
  • ONLINE DIALOGUE: COVID-19: a water professional’s perspective

International Water Management Institute (IWMI)

  • ARTICLE: COVID-19 is a deadly reminder that inclusive water supply and sanitation matters for all of us
  • INTERVIEW: Fears over handwashing in Africa to stem coronavirus seen as trigger for change
  • OPINION: Coronavirus – wake-up call to ensure water and sanitation for all
  • ARTICLE: Why nations must prepare for natural disasters amid the current Covid-19 pandemic
  • ARTICLE: When climate and Covid-19 collide: Ten steps to prepare South Asia

Pacific Institute

  • OP-ED: Hand-washing is critical in the fight against coronavirus, but what if you don’t have safe water?
  • Water and COVID-19: Risks and Opportunities
  • BLOG POST: When California utilities shut off water for the poor, we are all at risk
  • BLOG POST: Want to help fight COVID-19? List your organization’s work on the water action hub.
  • FACT SHEET: Water and the pandemic: reopening buildings after shutdowns: reducing water-related health risks
  • ISSUE BRIEF: Water and the COVID-19 pandemic: ensuring access to water as shutoff moratoriums lift
  • ISSUE BRIEF: Water and the COVID-19 pandemic: equity dimensions of utility disconnections in the U.S.
  • ISSUE BRIEF: Water and the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Business Framework for Water & COVID-19: Practical Actions to Contain the Pandemic

Stockholm international Water Institute (SIWI)

  • NEWS: You can’t wash your hands without water – how governments are responding to COVID-19
  • BLOG POST: Don’t forget the security aspect of the COVID-19 crisis
  • POLICY BRIEF: The key role of water, sanitation and hygiene promotion in the response to COVID-19 in Brazil

WaterAid

  • ARTICLE: Frequent handwashing with soap is one of the most effective ways to stop the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).
  • BLOG: How can we ensure everyone can wash their hands with soap and water, to protect lives from COVID-19?
  • BLOG: Putting equality, inclusion and rights at the centre of a COVID-19 water, sanitation and hygiene response
  • ARTICLE: Good hygiene saves lives – that’s why we’ve spent 37 years fighting for everyone to be able to practise it. Will you help us respond to the COVID-19 pandemic?
  • VIDEO: Why is handwashing so important to stop coronavirus?
  • VIDEO: How to wash your hands | the WaterAid guide to handwashing

Women for Water Partnership (WfWP)

World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)

World Resources Institute

  • ARTICLE: Tackling inequality in cities is essential for fighting COVID-19
  • ARTICLE: South Asia confronts a double disaster: cyclone and COVID-19

World Water Council

  • NEWS ARTICLE: World Water Council provides Marseille soap to Senegalese state and City of Dakar

The COVID-19 webpage on the UN-Water website features contents provided by the Members and Partners of UN-Water, including contents belonging to or originating from third parties and links to other websites. These contents and external links are uploaded in good faith and are not investigated, monitored, or verified by UN-Water. UN-Water does not warrant, endorse, guarantee, or assume responsibility for their accuracy, adequacy, validity, reliability, availability or completeness.

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The COVID-19 webpage on the UN-Water website should not be used to replace seeking professional help or advice, particularly of a medical kind, when worried about COVID-19.