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12 Jan 2023
Floods in Sudan destroy infrastructure and lead to internal displacements
AT least 24,860 homes have been destroyed and 48,250 homes damaged by floods in 16 of the 18 states of Sudan this year, according to the Sudan Situation Report by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) released on Dec,2022. According to the Government’s Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC), humanitarian organisations on the ground, and local authorities, the number of people affected by seasonal rains and flash floods across Sudan has remained constant at 349,000 since 26 September,this year...
12 Jan 2023
Drought triggers Emergency Water Sharing Measures between Mexico and the United States
For the first time since the signing of the 1944 treaty sharing the use of the Colorado River between Mexico and the United States, the International Boundary and Water Commission (CILA) between the two countries has had to extend the drastic measures adopted in August 2022. Agreements signed in 1972 and 2008 allow the city of Tijuana in Mexico to purchase emergency water deliveries from California, and on August 1st, the state public utilities commission ordered 4 million mᶟ of Colorado river water...
12 Jan 2023
Overview of Multilateral Investments in the Water Sector
The month of December 2022 was punctuated by several announcements of investments or loans by multilateral development banks, in the water sector, in different parts of the world. 18 million loan to the Dambovita Region Water Company in Romania as part of a €325 million European Union Large Scale Infrastructure Operational Project to expand, rehabilitate and upgrade its water and sanitation infrastructure...
12 Jan 2023
Groundwater Summit Launches the Coalition for Transboundary Cooperation
On 7 and 8 December 2022, the Groundwater Summit took place at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. This summit was the culmination of a year-long campaign implemented by the UN-Water Task Force, coordinated by UNESCO and the International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre (IGRAC), entitled "Groundwater: making the invisible visible"...
12 Jan 2023
Post flood situation in Pakistan still critical
The situation in Pakistan continues to be critical. As a reminder, this year's monsoon rains have dumped five times the average amount of water seen in the past 30 years in some provinces, killing 1,730 people and destroying or severely damaging more than 1.1 million homes and vital infrastructure. UNICEF had already released just under US$200 million in early autumn to respond to the health emergency, including the risks of diarrhoea, cholera, dengue and malaria...
12 Jan 2023
Research shows global groundwater recharge rates to be underestimated
A paper published in Geophysical Research Letters on the 29th of November has shown that global groundwater recharge rates are much higher than previously thought. Groundwater is an important source of freshwater, especially in arid areas, it is used for around 40% of global irrigation, and is often used as an important source of drinking water in urban areas...
12 Jan 2023
RAMSAR COP 14 : Acting for wetlands is acting for humanity and nature
"Acting for wetlands is acting for humanity and nature" was the theme of the Ramsar Convention COP 14 which took place in Geneva from 5 to 13 November 2022, with 146 Contracting Parties and 55 observer organisations present. As a result, 21 resolutions were adopted, which will be implemented over the next three years...
12 Jan 2023
COP 15 results in new Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework
The United Nations Conference on Biodiversity (COP 15) was held from 7 to 19 December 2022 in Montreal, Canada, to set new targets for nature for the decade 2020-2030 (the conference was originally scheduled to be held in China in Kunming in 2020). As stated by UNEP, the framework aims to put in place "an ambitious plan to implement far-reaching action to transform society's relationship with biodiversity and ensure that by 2050 the shared vision of living in harmony with nature is achieved"...
12 Jan 2023
UNECE hosts meetings to advance implementation of Helsinki Convention
The 7th meeting of the Task Force on the Water-Food-Energy-Ecosystems Interface took place in Geneva on 12-13 December 2022. The objective of the meeting was to discuss, plan and provide guidance for the implementation of activities under the 2022-2024 work programme of the UNECE Water Convention. A first element of reflection focused on the application of the Water Convention's and similar approaches to assessments and dialogues on transboundary linkages around the world...
12 Jan 2023
Acute lack of water in Kenya affects number of children attending school
The number of children threatened by hunger, lack of water and disease in the Horn of Africa has doubled to 20.2 million since July 2022. The number of people suffering from acute water shortages has also doubled to 24 million. In Kenya, the worst drought in 40 years is effectively pushing some 1...
12 Jan 2023
Global humanitarian needs likely to reach record levels in 2023
A record $51.5 billion is needed to help 230 million of the worlds most vulnerable people in 69 countries this year, an increase of 65 million people compared to previous year. This is according to a report published last month by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs “The gap between needs and funding received has never been wider or more concerning, the report said highlighting funding deficiencies that will hinder 109 million others to benefit from the assistance...
11 Jan 2023
Cholera spreads in Haïti amid fuel restrictions and gang violence
More than 1,260 cases of cholera have been confirmed in Haiti and more than 290 deaths have been recorded, according to the latest figures released in December 2022 by UNICEF. Haiti is one of ten countries in the world suffering from a food crisis, according to the United Nations. More than three years after the end of the cholera epidemic in Haiti, the waterborne disease reappeared in early October 2022 in a country facing a serious security and humanitarian crisis...