World Water Day - 22 March.

World Water Day is observed on March 22 each year to emphasize the significance of water and to create awareness about the global water crisis. The primary purpose of celebrating this day is to promote the achievement of SDG 6, which aims to provide access to clean water and sanitation for everyone by 2030. The day is dedicated to raising awareness about water-related issues, such as water pollution, water scarcity, insufficient water supply, and inadequate sanitation. The objective is to inspire individuals to manage freshwater resources sustainably and take necessary actions to address these issues.

World Water Day 2023: Theme

The focus of World Water Day 2023 is on the theme of ‘Accelerating the change to solve the water and sanitation crisis,’ underlining the vital importance of taking decisive action to address the global water crisis. According to the UN, there are billions of people, as well as numerous schools, businesses, healthcare centers, farms, and factories, who lack access to safe water and sanitation facilities. Therefore, it is imperative to move beyond the status quo and take swift measures to accelerate change and address this pressing issue.

World Water Day 2023: Significance

World Water Day 2023 is about accelerating change to solve the water and sanitation crisis.

Dysfunction throughout the water cycle undermines progress on all major global issues, from health to hunger, gender equality to jobs, education to industry, and disasters to peace.

In 2015, the world committed to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 as part of the 2030 Agenda – the promise that everyone would have safely managed water and sanitation by 2030.

Right now, we are seriously off-track.

Billions of people and countless schools, businesses, healthcare centers, farms, and factories are being held back because their human rights to water and sanitation still need to be fulfilled.

There is an urgent need to accelerate change – to go beyond ‘business as usual.’

The latest data show that governments must work on average four times faster to meet SDG 6 on time, but this is not a situation that any single actor or group can solve.

Water affects everyone, so we need everyone to take action.

Undoubtedly, 2023 is a particular year for commitments regarding the use of water and its sanitation.

The celebration of this World Water Day coincides with the start of the UN 2023 Water Conference (March 22-24, New York).

The conference is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to unite the world around solving the water and sanitation crisis.

National governments and stakeholders from all levels of society will collaborate to make voluntary commitments to accelerating progress on SDG 6 and other internationally-agreed water-related goals and targets.

These voluntary commitments will form the Water Action Agenda, designed to deliver rapid, transformative change in the remainder of this decade. 

World Water Day 2023: History

The United Nations General Assembly designated March 22 as World Water Day in 1993, following the recommendation made by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992. The day has been observed annually since 1993 to raise awareness about the importance of freshwater resources and to promote sustainable management of water resources.

Source: www.un.org

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