From 9 to 13 September 2019, the 42nd session of the Human Rights Council will be held in Geneva. During the Council, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights to water and sanitation will present a new thematic report.

In this paper, advocate for a systemic approach to water management for improved health and nutrition. Focus on rural and peri-urban areas of the developing world, where multipurpose water systems are particularly relevant.

Safely managed sanitation is a focus of the SDGs and central to stunting reduction and early childhood survival, both identified by the World Bank's Human Capital Index as critical for humans to develop their full potential. In 2015, 4.5 billion people lacked access to safely managed sanitation.

Despite the critical role that water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), waste disposal and environmental cleaning services play in the continuum of healthcare, access to WASH services globally remains alarmingly poor.

This report explores how scarce public resources can be used most effectively to achieve universal delivery of water supply and sanitation services.

Women are significantly underrepresented in the water workforce. Multiple barriers, ranging from social norms, to inadequate HR policies, to an unwelcoming work environment, pose challenges to female water professionals’ entering, staying and advancing in the water sector.

Access to safe drinking water is a right critical to a child’s survival, yet protracted crises have left some 420 million children without basic sanitation, and 210 million lacking access to safe drinking water, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said.

Investments in water and sanitation are a prerequisite to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular on SDG 6 ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.

Many of the 115 countries and territories surveyed by the 2018/2019 UN-Water Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water (GLAAS) survey are taking steps to achieve SDG 6.

The Global Water Partnership-Caribbean (GWP-Caribbean) and the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) have issued a handbook that provides guidance on monitoring progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal on clean water and sanitation (SDG 6) in the Caribbean region.