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A joint statement for COP 27
The world cannot wait. Progress on SDG 6 is much too slow. In the last two decades access to safe drinking water in Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, has increased by only 13% and progress on safe sanitation access is still slower at close to 7% (WHO/UNICEF, 2022). Long-standing water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) inequalities are now further exacerbated by climate change. We must address water insecurity and WASH inequalities to adapt and reduce the impacts of climate change now.
Climate change is not equally felt across populations with the most vulnerable being disproportionately affected. We already see the impacts in headlines every day. The most vulnerable people and communities must have their voices heard in both locally led decision- making and global climate finance dialogues to ensure inclusion and build resilience to extreme weather events and slow onset changes in water resources impacting daily life. Women are often depicted as victims of climate induced water insecurity, yet they are also proactive adaptation actors (Caretta et al, 2022). It is essential we collectively address the profoundly gendered coping responses and adaptation mechanisms to climate change and ensure water security and WASH are prioritized in gender transformative climate finance and response mechanisms.We call upon decision-makers at all levels to prioritize five action areas to ensure gender transformative climate finance includes water, sanitation, and hygiene as âlow regretsâ adaptation measures to confront climate change:
Signatories:
Alliance for Global Water Adaptation (USA)
Assane Seck University of Ziguinchor (Senegal)
CaDev (Zambia)
Canadian Feed the Children (Canada)
Canadian Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases (Canada)
Eco-STEPs, Inc. (Pakistan)
Engineers Without Borders Canada (Canada)
Faculté des Sciences, Université Mohammed V de Rabat FS-UM5R (Morocco)
Faculty for Geoinformation Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente (The Netherlands)
Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition – Agrifood Economics Division (FSN (ESA-FAO)) (Denmark)
Gender Links (South Africa)
Guilan University (Iran)
Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney (Australia)
Islamic Relief (Myanmar)
RESULTS Canada (Canada)
Ryanâs Well Foundation (Canada)
SOCODEVI (Canada)
Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) (Sweden)
Surge for Water (USA)
UNESCO Chair in Water Resources (UNESCO-CWR) (Sudan)
United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH) (Canada)
Water for Women Fund (Australia)
Water With Blessings (USA)
WaterAid (Canada)
Women in Water Diplomacy Network (process support team) (USA)
Women in Water Management in Central Asia and Afghanistan Network (Kyrgyzstan)
This joint statement was developed from the Women and Water: on the frontline of climate change virtual event co-hosted by the Canadian Coalition on Climate Change and Development, the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment, and Health (UNU-INWEH) and WaterAid convened on October 12, 2022.
đRead the emotional article by @nokwe_mnomiya, with a personal plea: đżđŠBreaking the cycle of violence!https://t.co/6kPcu2Whwm pic.twitter.com/d60tsBqJwx
— Gender Links (@GenderLinks) December 17, 2024
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