Remarks by H.E. Annalena Baerbock
President of the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly
at the High-Level Celebration of World Water Day 2026,
?Thursday, 19 March 2026,
10:00 a.m. , ECOSOC Chamber
Your Excellency, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan, Muhriddin
Your Excellency, President of ECOSOC,
Excellencies,
Dear colleagues,
¡°No water, no life¡ No blue, no green.¡±
These words by renowned marine biologist Sylvia Earle capture a simple yet indisputable truth: all life on earth ¨C all of human civilization, all our cities and economies ¨C are inescapably reliant on water.
Yet access to water is neither equal nor fair.
Some wash their cars or water their lawns without a second thought¡ while others are forced to carry heavy jugs of water home to their families for hours and hours¡ or are forced to drink contaminated water.
In a world where water is abundant ¨C and where technology has enabled extraordinary feats of engineering ¨C no one should be struggling to find water to drink or have to live without adequate sanitation.
Yet for billions of people, that remains the daily reality¡
As of 2024, a quarter of the world¡¯s population ¨C 2.2 billion people ¨C lacked access to safely managed drinking water.
Whenever we take a glass of water, we should remember how precious it is and how lucky we are.
More than 40 percent of humanity ¨C 3.4 billion people ¨C lacked access to safely managed sanitation.
Predictably, those already furthest behind bear the greatest burden.
In least developed countries, fewer than one in five people have access to safely managed drinking water or sanitation.
And the gender disparity is even more stark. And therefore, I¡¯m thankful that we have this very important meeting here during CSW.
A quarter of all women and girls worldwide ¨C 1.1 billion ¨C lack access to safely managed drinking water.
Every day, women and girls collectively spend 250 million hours fetching water for their families ¨C more than three times that spent by men and boys.
In seven out of ten households where water is not available on-site, it is again women and girls, many barely school-aged, who are sent to collect it, so they cannot attend school.
The focus of this year¡¯s World Water Day on gender equality is thus overdue¡
And timely, coming on the heels of the Commission on the Status of Women.
The outcome document of CSW, while not explicitly about water or sanitation, nonetheless reflects on the disproportionate burden of climate and environmental impacts on women and girls.
And again, I¡¯m very thankful for today¡¯s event and in especially in the Central Asian states with the situation of glaciers and others you can see the effects of climate change due to this very important topic.
Therefore, also in CSW it calls for efforts to mainstream gender perspectives into environmental, climate change and disaster risk reduction policies¡ and promotes women¡¯s participation and leadership in decision-making.
These calls resonate here too.
As evidenced by this year¡¯s Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ World Water Development Report, Water for All People: Equal Rights and Opportunities, to be launched today, the water-related challenges facing women and girls extend far beyond water and span into every aspect of life.
Because, these are women and girls missing school¡
These are women and girls unable to fully participate in the workforce¡
These are women and girls exposed to greater risks of violence, illness, and exploitation.
Addressing these concerns includes a range of elements, from financing to technical support¡ but above all ¨C as delegates to the CSW stated ¨C it requires meaningful engagement.
Too often, those who carry the water are the last to be consulted about how to improve access to it.
That must change. Women must participate in decision-making and be equally represented in technical roles ¨C from engineers to the field technicians and custodians who manage water resources.
And the moment to act is now.
Because today¡¯s discussion is about more than water¡
It¡¯s about every single Sustainable Development Goal that ultimately thrives or falters due to water access¡
As Sylvia Earle said, ¡°No water, no life.¡±
But we could just as easily say as well:
No water, no education.
No water, no economic growth.
So again, equal access to water is in the interest of all of us.
Because,
No water, no prosperity.
No water, no peace.
So let us treat this issue with the commitment and perseverance it requires.
Thank you.
Watch Full Broadcast