Today is the day we celebrate water and how precious it is. The current war in Ukraine highlights how utterly dependent we are on water for life – Вода (voda) – how vulnerable we are to shortage of supply and contamination. To deprive people of water is a war crime. The International committee of the Red Cross explains how international humanitarian law protects water: https://www.icrc.org/en/doc/resources/documents/interview/water-ihl-interview-220307.htm
Unfortunately, there are many wars raging and many humanitarian crises across the globe putting pressure on access to water and to clean, safe water. A huge amount of work remains to be done to ensure everyone can access it for drinking, hygiene and sanitation, health and well-being. We have the knowledge and capability, do we have the will?
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG6) give us a pathway to achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all by 2030. We are currently in the UN Water Action Decade (2018-28) a conference for WWD 2023 will comprise a mid-term review. This will be our chance to reinvigorate our determination to achieve SDG6 and to redirect resources to where they are most needed.
The image above is the charming Water Museum in Kyiv situated in a restored water tower: https://discover-ukraine.info/places/kyiv/kyiv/951 It is a reminder of better times in that beautiful city.
Here is a lovely video of the museum:
Let’s hope that someday soon peace will prevail and we can visit this beautiful place to support the people of Ukraine and its economy.