By Abdullahi Lukman
The United Nations World Water Development Report 2026, titled Water for all people: Equal rights and opportunities, will focus on data-driven insights and practical solutions to advance gender equality across the global water sector.
The report highlights persistent gender disparities in access to water, sanitation and hygiene services, noting that women and girls—particularly among the poorest and most vulnerable populations—continue to shoulder the primary responsibility for collecting water for household use.
This burden often results in physical and mental stress and limits their access to education, economic opportunities and social participation.
Despite progress in expanding WASH services worldwide, the report underscores that unequal access to safe and affordable water remains a major barrier to poverty reduction and social development.
In response to these challenges, UNESCO, through its World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) and the Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme (IHP), is strengthening efforts to address gender inequality in the water sector.
These efforts include collecting water data disaggregated by sex, age and other factors to improve understanding of how water resources are used, managed and distributed.
UNESCO also conducts gender analyses to identify gaps and support governments in integrating gender-responsive approaches into water-related policies, planning and projects.
Under UNESCO’s Priority Gender Equality Action Plan, WWAP is implementing initiatives on water and gender equality focused on indicators, methodologies and tools, capacity building, field projects, as well as communication and advocacy.
The report will further emphasize that achieving gender equality through universal access to clean water and sanitation, as well as the meaningful participation of women in water governance, is critical to building healthier, more inclusive and economically resilient societies.
The UN World Water Development Report 2026 will be launched on World Water Day, March 22, 2026, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
