The Expert Group on Equitable Access to Water and Sanitation under the Protocol on Water and Health serves as a platform for countries and stakeholders from the region to exchange experiences. It aims at supporting countries in their efforts to ensure equitable access to water and sanitation by providing a platform to exchange experiences in developing situational analyses, defining action plans and implementing concrete measures.

The 6th meeting of the Expert Group, was organized by the UNECE, as part of the joint secretariat of the Protocol on Water and Health, in cooperation with the French Ministry of Solidarities and Health and the Hungarian National Public Health Institute. It took place virtually on 24-25 March 2021 (two morning sessions).

The objectives of the 6th meeting of the Expert Group were:

1. To take stock of the implementation of the current programme of work on equitable access to water and sanitation.
2. To exchange experiences and lessons learned from self-assessments of equitable access to water and sanitation, and the development and implementation of Equitable Access Action Plans and measures.
3. To share information about actions taken to ensure equitable access to water and sanitation in the new COVID-19 context.  
4. To exchange information on related topics, in particular the equity dimension in the revised EU Drinking Water Directive, which entered into force in January 2021.
5. To launch the preparation of the brochure on good practices to ensure affordability of water and sanitation issues and start gathering inputs for its completion.

The meeting was attended by 69 participants, country representatives from the pan-European region whose work is related to equitable access to water and sanitation as well as representatives from development partners, international organizations, civil society organization and stakeholders engaged in the provision of water and sanitation services.