Towards the primary goal of the Water for Life Decade, Spain has agreed to provide resources to the United Nations to establish an Office to support the International Decade for action. The Office implements the UN-Water Programme on Advocacy and Communication (UNW-DPAC) and aims at sustaining the global attention and political momentum in favour of the water and sanitation agenda at all levels during the Decade. Allocated resources are managed by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) through a 10 year framework project implemented on a two year cycle basis.

The Office assists UN-Water with a coordinated communication response to accelerate the implementation of the water and sanitation agenda. To that end, its activities complement and add value to existing programmes and projects of UN-Water organizations.

The Office promotes visibility of UN-Water actions at all levels and makes it easier for Member States and a diverse set of audiences to acquire information about UN-Water programmes and projects.

The Office main objectives are:

• First: to contribute to the efforts of UN-Water in coordinating and following-up the implementation of internationally agreed goals in the areas of drinking water, sanitation and integrated water resources management;
• Second: to raise awareness and create an enabling environment for achieving the ultimate goal "water and sanitation for all";
• Third: to strengthen the capacities of Member States and other relevant stakeholders in addressing key obstacles impeding the implementation of the water and sanitation agenda.

According to the Office's mandate these objectives are achieved by:

• Identifying strategic issues and encouraging action-oriented responses at all levels;
• Enhancing coherence, credibility and visibility of the United Nations system in the area of water and sanitation;
• Promoting communication and collaboration with non-United Nations system partners;
• Creating an environment conducive to delivering a coordinated response by all stakeholders at all levels;
• Raising public awareness at all levels to maintain political momentum in favour of the water and sanitation agenda;
• Strengthening the implementation capacities of the Member States;
• Complementing already on-going activities and actions at all levels through further research and dissemination of results; and
• Identifying and formalizing working modalities with key partners and other relevant organizations.

The implementation strategy places special emphasis on promoting greater interaction between governments, United Nations agencies and non-United Nations partners and mobilizing resources, partners and other stakeholders to participate in, and contribute to, the Decade's goals.