Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Thank you for your participation in today’s SDG Business Forum Breakout Session on “Untapped Potential: Water Innovation to Advance the SDGs”.
I would like to thank our distinguished speakers for their insightful messages and ideas. I would like to also thank UN-Water and UN Global Compact for co-organizing together with UN DESA this timely and productive discussion under the SDG 6 Global Acceleration Framework.
We have heard how important water, sanitation and climate actions are if we want to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, and we are aware of how essential private sector partnerships are in water resilience efforts. Yet, it is clear that under the current rate of progress, the world is not on track to achieve SDG 6 targets by 2030.
Currently, around 2 billion people in the world are living in water stressed areas, and by 2050 the same will be true of more than half of the world’s population if no action is taken.
There is an urgent need for a significant and sustainable global response, one which builds on lessons learned and maps a more resilient future.
Moreover, the current global health crisis can be an opportunity for addressing and rectifying the continued failure to provide safe and affordable water and sanitation for all.
Access to water and sanitation is a fundamental requirement for hygiene, thus global public health is contingent on secure water resources for all. As the effects of COVID-19 intensified around the world, it was increasingly clear that we need to provide all people with essential services, especially water and sanitation. As nobody is safe until all are safe.
A key accelerator in the SDG 6 Acceleration Framework is to leverage and scale up innovative technologies and practices at the country level. This is only possible through effective partnerships with the business sector. With corporate innovations, the private sector can mitigate future distress and create more resilient communities. However, immediate and urgent action is needed in this regard.
As discussed in the breakout session, addressing the issue of water and sanitation supplies, including collaboration with the government to ensure efficiency, adequacy and timeliness in the delivery of such a critical public service, is crucial to achieving SDG 6.
This session has highlighted many ways that innovation for water and sanitation are helping to alleviate water stress, manage the COVID-19 response around the world, and build long-term resiliency.
I believe that the SDG 6 Global Acceleration Framework will deliver fast results at a large scale, and if we increase investments in water and sanitation, we will produce multiple benefits for health, economic growth and environmental sustainability.
The United Nations system, in coordination with private sector and multi-stakeholder partners, will unite international support to ensure accelerated progress towards achieving SDG 6.
Multilateral cooperation will be essential to upholding the guiding principles of the SDG 6 Acceleration Framework, such as prioritizing the vulnerable, inclusivity, conflict sensitivity, unleashing female and youth potential, planning for resilience and designing and implementing transformations based on scientific evidence.
At this point, I would like to commend those who have pledged support for the SDG 6 Acceleration Framework through the Water Resilience Coalition. You are vital to our efforts in exploring how innovations in supply chain management, technology and governance practices can advance the 2030 Agenda.
With compassion and collective action to address water, sanitation and climate challenges, we can ensure sustainable recovery from the current global water and heath crisis.
Thank you.