Deutsch (Germany) 
Polski (PL) Canada today announced a CDN$10 million extension of core funding through 2025 for the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH), a research institute at the forefront of pressing global water challenges.
Hosted by McMaster University, UNU-INWEH has contributed important insights on world water issues, including water-borne diseases and how to meet the expected large increase in global water demand — almost 50% by 2030 — a need impossible to meet as conventional water sources diminish and if current ways of doing business prevail.
“As a long-time supporter of UNU-INWEH, Canada recognises that equitable access to safe water and sanitation is critical to protecting human life. Since the lack of water and sanitation disproportionately affects women and girls, and is being exacerbated by climate change, renewed support to water management enhances women’s leadership and increases resilience to climate change,” says the Honourable Karina Gould, Canada’s Minister of International Development.
The funding announcement coincides with World Water Week, and the United Nations’ 75th anniversary.
Says UNU-INWEH Director, Vladimir Smakhtin: “Available freshwater per capita has declined more than 50% worldwide since 1960 and today the scale of the global water crisis is stunning, with four in seven people regularly experiencing some form of water scarcity.”
“The coronavirus pandemic is just the latest illustration of how vitally important water is to health and well-being,” he adds. “Hundreds of millions of people lack access to clean water to wash their hands, making control of the current coronavirus outbreak, and potentially other similar outbreaks in the future, even more challenging.”
“The institute recently embarked on its new five-year strategy to help the world achieve water-related Sustainable Development Goals,” notes Dr Smakhtin. “Canada’s strong support for UNU-INWEH has never been more important. We are deeply grateful for its generous and continued commitment. Canada has not only been the institute’s home and principal source of funding since it began, Canadian expertise has greatly contributed to improving the management of world water issues.”
“The Institute’s link to the United Nations brings privileged access to global policy debates on water,” says Michael Small, chair of UNU-INWEH’s International Advisory Committee, a Distinguished Fellow at the Asian Pacific Foundation and Fellow at Simon Fraser University’s Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue. “As a hub for world-class expertise on water — spanning academia, industry, and governments — the Institute is uniquely positioned to advance practical solutions to water-related challenges that achieve impact globally and nationally.”
UNU-INWEH works to bridge the gap between the wealth of evidence and research that exists on water resources, and the practical needs of political leaders and decision makers, particularly those in low- and middle-income countries.
www.unu.edu
