Country Days

Essentially a hybrid one- or two-day annual conferences which brings together all UN agencies and partners working in a particular country together, to discuss what they are doing, what they are planning and what help they could need from each other. Basically, it is a coordination mechanism. Not political, this is about action to enhance current programmes. It also does not necessarily require new mechanisms - it is about using existing structures and resources and empowering UN Water partners to also take a lead to organise these. Should start with a pilot in 3 countries.

Contributing Action Number

CA2.2

Primary Entry Point

2: Engage better for countries

Additional Entry Point(s)

1: Lead and inspire collective action

4: Accelerate progress and transformational change

Output(s)

Output 1.2: Action is inspired by compelling and unified UN system communications and messaging on water

Output 2.1: Expertise and resources are fully leveraged by the UN system to support countries, with emphasis on the water and sanitation needs of developing countries

Output 2.2: Diverse stakeholders and partnerships are mobilized by the UN system to support countries’ progress on water and sanitation

Output 4.3: Institutional and human resources capacity development support that responds to national needs and priorities is provided by the UN system, contributing to a skilled water and sanitation workforce

SDG 6 Target(s)

Cross-cutting work on SDG 6

SDG target 6.1: Achieve safe and affordable drinking water

SDG target 6.2: Achieve access to sanitation and hygiene and end open defecation

SDG target 6.3: Improve water quality, wastewater and safe reuse

SDG target 6.4: Increase water-use efficiency and ensure freshwater supplies

SDG target 6.5: Implement integrated water resources management (IWRM)

SDG target 6.6: Protect and restore water-related ecosystems

SDG target 6.A: Expand international cooperation and capacity-building

SDG target 6.B: Support stakeholder participation

SDG target 10.3: Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory lews, policies, and practices and promoting approprate legislation, policies and action in this regard

SDG target 11.5: Reduce number of deaths, people affected and economic losses caused by disasters, including water-related disasters

Water-related work on other SDGs

Type of Engagement

Implementation (e.g. direct support and service delivery, pilot or larger scale)

Capacity development and technical assistance

Convening of stakeholders

Geographical Scope

Country-level (national, subnational and local)

Leading Entity

AquaFed - The International Federation of Private Water Operators

United Nations System-wide Strategy for Water and Sanitation

The Contributing Actions are key initiatives supporting the United Nations System-wide Strategy for Water and Sanitation, aligning individual and joint efforts across UN entities and partnering organizations to advance global water and sanitation goals. These actions are integrated into the Collaborative Implementation Plan (CIP) Results Framework 2025-2028, which provides a structured approach to achieving system-wide impact through coordinated UN efforts.
The Priority Collaborative Actions outlined in the framework focus on enhancing water security, improving governance, strengthening climate resilience, and accelerating progress on sanitation and hygiene. By fostering system-wide collaboration among UN agencies, these actions help drive policy coherence, knowledge sharing, and innovative solutions to address the world’s most pressing water challenges.