This, amid alarming data showing that 118 million people on the continent live near healthcare facilities without basic sanitation.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cHealthcare facilities are where the vulnerable seek healing. Yet, without adequate water, sanitation and hygiene, for too many people, expected care can become inadvertent harm,\u201d said Dr Hans Kluge, Regional Director for Europe at the World Health Organisation (WHO).<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Kluge stressed that healthcare systems are \u201cbeing tested as never before\u201d and described strengthening them as an investment in resilience.<\/p>\n
More than 40 countries have adopted a new programme aimed at building resilient and equitable water, sanitation and hygiene systems during a UN-led meeting in Budapest this week. The session, co-organised by the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and WHO, marked the 7th Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol on Water and Health, the world\u2019s only legally binding treaty connecting environmental protection, water governance and public health.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Protocol has helped countries turn commitments into tangible progress, such as expanding access to safe drinking water, protecting biodiversity, and improving disease surveillance. Yet, challenges persist: in addition to those living near facilities without sanitation, 70 million people in Europe lack access to safely managed drinking water, while 185 million still do not have safe sanitation.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThese vulnerabilities are deepening as droughts, floods, and cyber threats increasingly disrupt essential services,\u201d warned Tatiana Molcean, UNECE Executive Secretary. \u201cThe Protocol is an example of how multilateral cooperation impacts our everyday lives, but we still have much work ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Protocol offers practical tools, including a water safety planning framework and an equitable access scorecard, now in use across more than 30 countries. It has guided at least 1 500 facility assessments and informed policies in schools, hospitals and urban development.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Marta Vargha, Vice-Chair of the Protocol, said the agreement provides the \u201chow\u201d behind international pledges. \u201cCountries have committed to ensuring safe water and sanitation for all through the Budapest Declaration and the Sustainable Development Goals, but no one tells you how to do it. That\u2019s what the Protocol has to offer,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Among its concrete measures are plans to ensure safe water, sanitation and menstrual hygiene in schools; monitor wastewater for viruses like COVID-19; tackle Legionella bacteria in domestic systems; and move towards carbon-neutral water services.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ahead of the UN climate summit in Brazil, UNECE called on governments to place water and sanitation systems at the heart of climate resilience. UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres reinforced the message in his statement to the meeting: \u201cProgress on water and sanitation supports progress across multiple Sustainable Development Goals.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–UN\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":13395,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[26],"class_list":["post-14945","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"As health emergencies multiply under the pressure of the worsening climate crisis, governments across Europe are partnering with the United Nations (UN) to safeguard access to clean water and sanitation. ","published_date":null,"news_description":"As health emergencies multiply under the pressure of the worsening climate crisis, governments across Europe are partnering with the United Nations (UN) to safeguard access to clean water and sanitation. ","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/14945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/14945\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19389,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/14945\/revisions\/19389"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=14945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}