Highlights

As emphasized by the United Nations Secretary-General in his opening statement , “access to safe water and adequate sanitation is vital to health, dignity, and inclusive development. The Protocol on Water and Health provides governments with concrete tools to improve lives, realize the rights to water and sanitation, build resilience to climate change, and prepare for future pandemics”.

300 participants from 45 countries of the pan-European region, including more than 20 ministers, state secretaries and ambassadors, attended the sixth session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol. Such broad and high-level participation confirms the relevance of the Protocol as a regional platform for policy-making on water, sanitation, hygiene and health, for knowledge exchange and for facilitating national progress and decision-making.

The Meeting’s high-level session provided an opportunity for countries to discuss the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, the policy responses and WASH interventions that were taken, and their relevance for possible future pandemics. Countries also exchanged experience on the challenges posed by climate change, as well as policies and practical responses that can be taken to strengthen climate resilience in the water, sanitation and health sectors. The conclusions  of the high-level session allowed to draw integrated messages on the actions needed to strengthen resilience against crises, such as ensuring that governance frameworks are sensitive to inequities, adopting whole-of-government approaches, and providing long-term financing to make the measures taken in times of crises enduring. The session highlighted the role of the Protocol as a powerful legally binding instrument that supports such actions. The key messages and actions  have been brought forward by Hungary, the new Chair of the Meeting of the Parties, as input for the 2023 United Nations Water Conference.

The Meeting of the Parties also reviewed achievements and progress in the implementation of the Protocol and adopted a new ambitious programme of work for 2023-2025 addressing key regional challenges and priorities. In a round-table on financing, Parties and other partners also discussed how to achieve sustainable and predictable financing under the Protocol.

Countries’ progress towards accession to the Protocol on Water and Health

• Montenegro has become the 27th Party to the Protocol in 2020
• Four other countries (Italy, Kazakhstan, North Macedonia and Uzbekistan) are in the process of accession and all other States, in particular Signatories, were called upon to ratify, accede to, accept or approve the Protocol as soon as possible;
• The UN Secretary-General stressed the call for accession, urging all countries to ratify the Protocol and strive for its full implementation.

Other highlights and decisions

• The Meeting of the Parties elected Hungary as its Chair for 2023-2025 and new members of the Protocol’s Bureau
• New members of the Protocol’s Compliance Committee  were also elected

Key products

• The Background Note on Increasing Resilience to Climate Change through the Protocol on Water and Health, providing a systematic overview of how the Protocol’s framework, areas of work and tools can support climate sensitive action in the water and sanitation sector.
• The 2022 regional report on the implementation of the Protocol, based on the analysis of 35 national summary reports submitted by Parties and other States within the Protocol’s fifth reporting cycle. Some of the highlights of the report can be found here .
• The information note The Protocol on Water and Health and the COVID-19 pandemic: relevance, lessons learned and future perspectives, providing a summary of WASH-related considerations in relation to COVID-19 and a conceptual overview of the role of the Protocol in prevention and control of epidemics and pandemics of infectious disease. 
• Seven new publications were launched:

1. The Protocol on Water and Health – Driving action on water, sanitation, hygiene and health 
2. Water, sanitation and hygiene in health-care facilities: a practical tool for situation assessment and improvement planning 
3. A field guide to improving small drinking-water supplies: water safety planning for rural communities 
4. A field guide to improving small drinking-water supplies: water safety planning for rural communities
5. Costing and financing of small-scale water supply and sanitation services 
6. Delivering safe sanitation for all: Areas for action to improve the situation in the pan-European region 
7. Making water and sanitation affordable for all: Policy options and good practices to ensure the affordability of safe drinking water and sanitation services in the pan-European region