As a result of a strengthening El Niño, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is warning that an estimated 11 million children are at risk from hunger, disease and lack of water in eastern and southern Africa alone, as the weather phenomenon has left droughts and floods in its wake throughout parts of Asia, the Pacific and Latin America.
30 March 2015 - The international community must gear up for a new era of “hydro-diplomacy” as the threat of water scarcity risks plunging the world into a period of geopolitical tension and stunted development, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson told delegates gathered at the General Assembly today.
As the perils of climate change increasingly threaten the planet, the international community must unite in “a spirit of urgent cooperation” to address the many water-related challenges facing humanity, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon declared today.
At a side event during the Commission on the Status of Women, women (and men) from around the world eagerly packed into a UN conference room to discuss the impact of inadequate menstrual hygiene, open defecation and other practices on women and girls.
For every dollar invested in water and sanitation, there is a $4.3 return in the form of reduced health care costs for individuals and society around the world, where 2.5 billion people still lack access to basic sanitation services, with 1 billion practicing open defection, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) said today.
With one out of three women worldwide lacking access to safe toilets, it is a moral imperative to end open defecation to ensure women and girls are not at risk of assault and rape simply because they lack a sanitation facility, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged today on World Toilet Day.
