Launch of United Nations System-wide Strategy for Water and Sanitation

Following an opening keynote address by a representative of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the UN System-wide Strategy for Water and Sanitation will be launched.

Earlier on the same day, Principals from UN-Water Members will attend a breakfast meeting to discuss the Collaborative Implementation Plan, currently under development, that will guide the operationalization, localization, and monitoring of the System-wide Strategy.

Through the System-wide Strategy, UN entities have committed to uniting their efforts and maximizing the collective strength of the UN system to support country progress towards internationally agreed water-related targets, including Sustainable Development Goal 6 – to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all by 2030.

Accelerating action on water and sanitation through the System-wide Strategy will help the UN transform billions of people’s lives and drive gains across all dimensions of sustainable development.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Statement on the launch of the United Nations System-wide Strategy for Water and Sanitation

• Ms. Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations

UN Principals Statement on the launch of the United Nations System-wide Strategy for Water and Sanitation

• Mr. Alvaro Lario, UN-Water Chair and President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
• Ms. Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA)
• Ms. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)
• Dr. Qu Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
• Mr. Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) 
• Ms. Amy Pope, Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM)
• Ms. Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
• Mr. Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
• Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)
• Mr. Li Junhua, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) 
• Mr. Kamal Kishore, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General (SRSG) for Disaster Risk Reduction, and Head of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)
• Ms. Tatiana Molcean, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
• Ms. Inger Andersen, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
• Mr. Michal Mlynár, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Acting Executive Director of United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat)
• Ms. Catherine Russell, Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
• Mr. Nikhil Seth, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Executive Director for the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)
• Prof. Tshilidzi Marwala, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Rector of the United Nations University (UNU)
• Ms. Cindy Hensley McCain, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP)
• Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO)
• Prof. Celeste Saulo, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

UN-Water Partner Statements on the launch of the United Nations System-wide Strategy for Water and Sanitation

• Dr. Florika Fink-Hooijer, Director-General of the Environment Department of the European Commission
• Mr. Dominic O'Neill, Executive Director of The Sanitation and Hygiene Fund (SHF)