Addressing Climate Change Supplement To The Who Water Sanitation And Hygiene Strategy 2018 2025

This supplement to the WHO WASH strategy 2018-2025 further elaborates the direction and role of WHO’s work at the interface of WASH, climate change and health until 2030. It summarizes WHO’s interventions on WASH and climate resilience under the current strategy through authoritative guidelines, technical assistance, and evidence for policymaking. It describes how WHO will increase focus and impact on adaptation and mitigation measures that build health resilience through WASH in the face of a changing climate. The supplement identifies actions under seven focus areas. These include monitoring, climate resilience through WASH risk management, climate-resilient health care facilities, research, environmental surveillance and early warning, controlling the spread of vector-borne disease, health policy and implementation and WASH integration within Integrated Water Resources Management.

This report summarizes the World Health Organization’s (WHO) global work on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) during 2022. It describes WHO’s continued delivery of essential WASH programming as elaborated in its 2018–2025 strategy. This includes publication and dissemination of its work monitoring access to WASH and WASH systems through the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (JMP) and the UN-Water Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water (GLAAS), continued development and implementation of its norms on drinking-water and sanitation, and overall advocacy including on hand hygiene. All of WHO’s WASH work was augmented through the strength of its partnerships.

In a world where sustainable development is becoming increasingly urgent, the agricultural sector emerges as a key player. Sustainable farming practices are essential for ensuring food security and environmental preservation. However, achieving sustainability in agriculture is fraught with obstacles, from abiotic and biotic threats to land degradation and water resource crises. Achieving Food Security Through Sustainable Agriculture is a book that offers a comprehensive solution to these challenges. It delves deep into sustainable agricultural development, providing insights and strategies to enhance agricultural productivity while safeguarding the environment. This book is not just a theoretical exploration of sustainable agriculture. It is a practical guide that academics, agronomists, agricultural institutions, and environmental organizations can use to navigate the complexities of sustainable agriculture. It addresses food security challenges and demonstrates how sustainable practices can increase agricultural production. The book's ultimate goal is to empower readers to implement these practices in their work and contribute to the global sustainability movement.

The 2020 edition of the WWDR, titled Water and Climate Change illustrates the critical linkages between water and climate change in the context of the broader sustainable development agenda. Supported by examples from across the world, it describes both the challenges and opportunities created by climate change, and provides potential responses – in terms of adaptation, mitigation and improved resilience – that can be undertaken by enhancing water resources management, attenuating water-related risks, and improving access to water supply and sanitation services for all in a sustainable manner. It addresses the interrelations between water, people, environment and economics in a changing climate, demonstrating how climate change can be a positive catalyst for improved water management, governance and financing to achieve a sustainable and prosperous world for all. The report provides a fact-based, water-focused contribution to the knowledge base on climate change. It is complementary to existing scientific assessments and designed to support international political frameworks, with the goals of helping the water community tackle the challenges of climate change, and informing the climate change community about the opportunities that improved water management offers in terms of adaptation and mitigation.

"Neglected tropical diseases affect over 1 billion people, causing chronic disability and death, primarily among the poorest of the world--the same people who often lack access to even the most basic water and sanitation services. Provision of safe water, sanitation and hygiene is critical for the prevention and care for many NTDs, but has often received little attention in NTD control programmes. The release of the WHO NTD roadmap has given renewed impetus for collaboration between WASH and NTD actors. International organisations, academics, donors, practitioners, and countries have started mobilising efforts to work together. It is time to build on the momentum in the health and development community to reinforce joint WASH and NTD actions to accelerate progress towards control, elimination and eradication of NTDs. The principle of leaving no one behind is central to the Sustainable Development Goals' agenda, including for sanitation and water. WASH providers must prioritize reduction of inequalities to align with this agenda. This means prioritising service delivery to poor communities who suffer from or are at risk of NTDs. With just five years remaining to meet the roadmap targets, the need for action is urgent. While acknowledging successes in the fight against NTDs, we must also recognize the changing global health context, characterized by increased fragility and conflict, inequality, and vulnerability to a changing environment affected by climate change and natural disasters. All these factors mean that we must ensure that the successes achieved are sustained. We urgently need a renewed commitment to collaboration that reaches the most vulnerable--those most affected by NTDs, and those without access to basic water and sanitation services and good quality affordable healthcare. This strategy builds on existing progress to tackle NTDs, such as the billions of anti-parasitic treatments delivered since 2006, and continued efforts to treat and care for those suffering the chronic effects of these diseases. The joint five-year agenda presented here calls for more effective delivery of WASH alongside other NTD interventions and paves the way for sustainable development and shared prosperity."--Foreword

The Technical Paper addresses the issue of freshwater. Sealevel rise is dealt with only insofar as it can lead to impacts on freshwater in coastal areas and beyond. Climate, freshwater, biophysical and socio-economic systems are interconnected in complex ways. Hence, a change in any one of these can induce a change in any other. Freshwater-related issues are critical in determining key regional and sectoral vulnerabilities. Therefore, the relationship between climate change and freshwater resources is of primary concern to human society and also has implications for all living species. -- page vii.

This Book includes selected papers that has been published in the Water journal Special Issue (SI) on Water Supply and Water Scarcity. Moreover, an overview of the SI is included. The papers selected for publication in the SI include review and research papers on water history, on water management issues under water scarcity regimes, on rainwater harvesting, on water quality and degradation, and on climatic variability impacts on water resources. Overall, the issue identify and highlight the main challenges in water sector, and particularly in management and protection of water resources and in use of alternative (non-conventional) water resources, especially in areas with demographic change and climate vulnerability in order to achieve sustainable and secure water supply. Furthermore, general guidelines and possible solutions for an improved and sophisticated water management system are proposed and discussed, such as the adoption of advanced technological solutions and practices that improve water-use efficiency and the use of alternative water resources, to address the growing environmental and health issues and to reduce the emerging conflicts among water users.

New evidence this year corroborates the rise in world hunger observed in this report last year, sending a warning that more action is needed if we aspire to end world hunger and malnutrition in all its forms by 2030. Updated estimates show the number of people who suffer from hunger has been growing over the past three years, returning to prevailing levels from almost a decade ago. Although progress continues to be made in reducing child stunting, over 22 percent of children under five years of age are still affected. Other forms of malnutrition are also growing: adult obesity continues to increase in countries irrespective of their income levels, and many countries are coping with multiple forms of malnutrition at the same time – overweight and obesity, as well as anaemia in women, and child stunting and wasting.