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| Thu, 18th Mar 2021 14:35:00 |
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Billions without clean water and sanitation a ‘moral failure’: UN General Assembly President |
For Volkan Bozkir, the discussion was long overdue, given statistics such as three billion worldwide still lack basic handwashing facilities, even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“If I may be candid: it is a moral failure that we live in a world with such high levels of technical innovation and success, but we continue to allow billions of people to exist without clean drinking water or the basic tools to wash their hands,” he said.
No excuse for action
The meeting centred around implementation of the water-related goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda, the blueprint for a better, more sustainable world. It promises to leave no one behind, with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 specifically addressing access to water and sanitation.
Additionally, the UN General Assembly has declared 2018 to 2028, the Water Action Decade, which also addresses the increased global pressure on water resources, and exacerbated risk of droughts and floods.
Mr. Bozkir said the fact that during the pandemic, billions have not had basic handwashing facilities, while health workers in some of the Least Developed Countries do not have running water, represents a “stark example of global inequality” that requires action.
“While we cannot go back and change what has happened, we must acknowledge our failings and use this opportunity to root out the systemic gaps that have allowed the crisis to flourish”, he said.
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