GWP Celebrated World Water Day

World Water Day (WWD) is commemorated on 22 March every year. This year’s theme was “Leaving no one behind”. GWP and its Partners worldwide supported the theme by arranging a wide range of activities. A few of the events are highlighted here – with more photos and quotes for the day available on GWP’s Instagram account.

GWP Caribbean and its Partner, the Caribbean Water and Wastewater Association (CWWA), challenged Caribbean persons to create a 1-minute video responding to the question: In your community, do you believe there are any persons/groups/sectors being left behind in terms of access to water and sanitation? The results – and videos – are presented here.

In Nigeria, the day was a new experience in the country as the Minister of Water Resources, Engr. Suleiman H. Adamu, led the entire Water Resources family to Sabon Piko Village to commission a solar-powered borehole water project. Read more about that and other WWD activities in this GWP West Africa article.

GWP Honduras, which is part of GWP Central America, participated in an event organised by the Ministry of Environment and other organisations on the importance of water governance for sustainable development. GWP presented the preparatory process in Honduras for the implementation of SDG 6. 

In Nicaragua, partners organised an event in the city of Río Blanco, with the participation of 45 representatives of WASH committees, local government, and governmental entities, to raise awareness on SDG 6 and the 2030 Agenda, as well as water and sanitation issues, including climate change and local water pricing. 

GWP Central America also shared a series of videos from partners of the region on the importance of implementing Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) to make sure the no one is left behind. The playlist can be viewed on Facebook, here.

Engaging school children

In the GWP Central Asia and Caucasus (CACENA) region, GWP Armenia implemented an information campaign dedicated to WWD in a primary school; Ashtarak Basic School N 1 named after Nerses Ashtaraketsi. The objective was to increase awareness, change attitudes and shape culture on human rights to water among schoolchildren.

Buhay KYUT (Kalusugan, Yamang Ugnay sa Tubig) is an educational water campaign programme of the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) on water conservation, health, and hygiene. In celebration of WWD, GWP Philippines - which is part of GWP Southeast Asia - and  Maynilad Water’s Daloy Dunong Water Information collaborated with LWUA to introduce the programme in Guiteb Elementary School in Ramos, Tarlac.

In the GWP South Asia region, GWP Bhutan commemorated the day in Haa Dzongkhag with a cultural programme, an exhibition and a river cleaning aligned with the WWD theme. The event was held at Gongzim Ugyen Dorji Higher Secondary School, and students afterwards helped to clean to clean Katsho Stream. GWP India and Partners also participated in a government-led voluntary cleaning along the Upper Yamuna River Bank. More than 400 volunteers participated in the cleaning, removing plastic and other solid waste.

Representatives of GWP Southern Africa's regional office joined the government of South Africa in commemorating WWD at a forum which was hosted by the Department of Water and Sanitation. The Forum focused on two main issues: the status of implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in South Africa, and water stewardship.

Photo above: GWP Mongolia and the Mongolian Association of Hydrogeologists organised a one-day field training trip.

Top photo: Community Group consultation in Maziba, Uganda, for the "Enhancing resilience of communities to climate change through catchment-based integrated management of water and related resources in Uganda" project (EURECCCA). See more on GWP's Instagram.