UN-Water Annual Report 2024

Foreword to the UN-Water Annual Report 2024 by Mr. Alvaro Lario, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Chair of UN-Water.

“In 2024, UN-Water led the development and launch of the first-ever United Nations System-wide Strategy for Water and Sanitation – an unprecedented commitment by UN entities to unify their work on water and maximize support to Member States.

The Strategy embodies a new consensus: that accelerating progress on water and sanitation is essential to addressing so many of our global challenges, including poverty, food insecurity, climate change, inequality, disease, and biodiversity loss.

The work of the UN-Water family – our Members and Partners, in consultation with Member States – has helped create a more urgent and integrated approach to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) – ensuring water and sanitation for all – and all other internationally agreed water-related goals and targets.

Now, we are shifting into a higher gear. The focus is on implementation and impact – turning commitments into results.

Another milestone in 2024 was the appointment of the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Water, Ms. Retno Marsudi. We look forward to supporting her as a champion and high-level advocate, mobilizing action and additional financial resources to address the global water crisis.

To assist Member States in their own efforts towards water security, UN-Water continued to provide data-driven insights and monitor progress. Our 2024 series of indicator reports, published under the umbrella of the UN-Water Integrated Monitoring Initiative for SDG 6, underscored the deep interconnections between water and the rest of the SDGs.

Our three SDG 6 Country Acceleration Case Studies from Cambodia, Czechia, and Jordan showcased effective strategies to advance water and sanitation services and serve as replicable examples of best practices for different country contexts.

The 2024 World Water Day and World Toilet Day campaigns on Water and Peace have, we hope, deepened awareness of the fundamental role that water and sanitation play in building a healthier, safer, and more equitable world.

With just five years to meet the global development goals, the UN System-wide Strategy for Water and Sanitation offers clear potential to accelerate progress across the entire sustainable development agenda and transform billions of lives.

Together with the UN-Water family, we look forward to delivering on that potential.”