Climate Resilience for Water and Health Services in Humanitarian Contexts – A Budapest Side Event under the Protocol on Water and Health

Improving climate resilience of water, sanitation, hygiene and health services in humanitarian contexts, including natural disasters 

This side-event organized by the Geneva Water Hub, the French Water Partnership and Action Against Hunger takes place on the 6th of November from 13h30 to 14h45 during the Seventh Session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol on Water and Health in Budapest.

The escalating effects of global warming are transforming the Pan-European region.Unprecedented heatwaves, devastating floods, prolonged droughts, and catastrophic wildfires areno longer exceptional in this region. As noted in the 2024 report on Strengthening climate resilience in the drinking-water and sanitation sector through the Protocol on Water and Health, there is a need to strengthen the resilience of water and sanitation services against climate changeimpacts and to ensure the protection and respect of the human rights to human rights to water and sanitation.

 The Protocol on Water and Health plays a crucial role in enabling its Parties to safeguardfundamental human rights to water and sanitation amid climate change. The Protocol empowers its Parties in collecting data and building a common framework to monitor the sectors of water, sanitation, hygiene, and health in line with climate change objectives.  Some of the targets and areas for monitoring in the Protocol include drinking water quality assurance, equitable access to water and sanitation services, the operational performance of these services, wastewater treatment and reuse strategies, and the protection of water resources.

This side-event will highlight innovative best practices on how the targeting-setting and reporting framework under the Protocol can help in promoting, assessing, and monitoring climate change interventions. Panelists will also address how natural disasters and health emergencies, often caused or amplified by climate change, affect the resilience of the water, sanitation, and health services and discuss solutions to ensure the continuity and safety of these essential services.