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With hand-washing as one of the top recommendations to hinder the spread of COVID-19, the lack of access to clean water and sanitation in many parts of the world is being reported on extensively in media. Water management, and in particular the impact of climate change on water resources, has come to the fore. In recent years, GWP has collaborated with UNICEF on this issue, developing a Strategic Framework for Climate Resilience and WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene), including a Help Desk that is being developed to support users of the Framework.

On 2 June 2021, GWP-Med and the Coca-Cola Company were invited to present the results of their 10+ year collaboration on NCWR technical solutions, at the launch event for the GWP report "Mobilising Change: 10 years of climate resilient water investments".

GWP promotes youth inclusion in water resources management. One of those ways is through a robust internship programme. Civil Engineer Axel Martinez, 26, from Nicaragua, spent five months with GWP Central America as a Young Professional Development Initiative Intern under GWP’s Water, Climate and Development Programme (WACDEP). He says the experience has helped him to grow professionally.

The Danube Drought Conference, held on 7-8 May in Vienna, Austria focused on the challenges and joint cooperation in the area of drought management in the Danube region.

The people living along the Lake Nokoué - Porto Novo Lagoon Complex are facing severe problems with te proliferation invasive plants. To help them cope with these problems, CWP-Benin has obtained financing from the Special Climate and Development Fund (CDSF) of the African Development Bank for the implementation of the project "Strengthening Investments for a Climate Change Resilient Development in the Lake Nokoué - Porto Novo Lagoon Complex".

Commenting on the COVID crisis, and whether youth will be thinking about climate resilience now, Maitreyi Koduganti Venkata says: "In times of crises like this, what everyone thinks of is to keep our loved ones safe, keep our families safe. The idea of climate resilience is perhaps not even on the agenda, but that doesn't mean that it's not there at all. The climate protests are still happening, people are still voicing their concerns, it's just on a different platform. An abandonment of this issue has the potential to worsen certain circumstances.”

The International Water Association (IWA) is organising the first IWA Digital Water Summit - the original dates were set to 27-30 April in Bilbao, Spain, however due to the worldwide Corinavirus crisis new dates have been announced: 30 November - 3 December. The event is designed to bring together water technology providers and water utilities with a focus on business and industry.

A one-day meeting on root cause & barriers analysis of select capacity caps to inform Gender Transformative Approaches (GTA) to strengthening water security and climate resilience in Cotonou, Benin on October 13, 2020.

13 October marks the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction. The day is centered around the seven targets of the Sendai Framework, and this year focuses on Target D: reduce disaster damage to critical infrastructure and disruption of basic services. According to the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) floods are the most common natural disaster with the largest impacts on society. GWP Senior Network Specialist Frederik Pischke says that there are great published insights that can help those in need to build resilience – online HelpDesks on flood & drought management offer practical support.