Side Event: Water pressure (WASH): Sector specific public allocation for women’s empowerment – clean, affordable and gender equitable access to water and sanitation
The main objective was to assess the impacts of accessible, affordable and clean water and sanitation on the lives of women, their families as well as communities at large, including by considering: the inextricability of SDGs 5 and 6, and the complexities of women’s status regarding water, the criteria of Human Rights to Water and Sanitation (HRWS) and the cross-cutting Human Rights principles, and the importance of disaggregated data in examining disparities in terms of access but also in identifying the root causes of inequalities.
The expected outcomes, to be considered through discussion of questions as indicated in the agenda, were the identification of straightforward, workable and affordable solutions and barriers to be addressed, to improve access to water and sanitation for women and girls, in particular, and the communities in which they live, in general.
Background
Clean water and sanitation are important for women’s lives. Using an interactive approach, this event considered the impact of the integration and financing of women’s rights and gender equality in the water sector. Aspects such as locally-led decision-making for equitable water provision, as well as transparency, accountability, participation and involvement of women’s organizations in governments financing policy decision-making processes on water and sanitation were included, with concrete examples from diverse UNECE sub-regions. The impacts of disruptions to water supplies for women caused by natural crises including earthquakes, glacier meltings, drought and flooding were taken into account.
Forum of women’s NGOs of Kyrgyzstan; Centre for Socio-Eco-Nomic Development (CSEND); Human Right 2 Water; Commonwealth Medical Trust (Commat)
