RésEAU Updates September 2026

News to read

• UN-Water has released the SDG 6 Synthesis Report on Water and Sanitation 2026, reflecting on ten years of implementation. It reports measurable progress but finds that advances remain too slow and uneven, and calls for stronger financing, implementation, partnerships and multilateral cooperation.
• The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) published the State of Global Water Resources 2025, reporting one of the driest years for global river discharge in 35 years, continuing declines in terrestrial freshwater storage and widespread glacier loss.
• The Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) released two progress reports with updated national, regional and global estimates: Progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene in schools 2015–2025 and Progress on water, sanitation, hygiene, environmental cleaning and waste management in health care facilities 2015–2025.
• The new Blue Peace Global website brings together SDC-supported global and regional initiatives on transboundary water cooperation and water diplomacy.
• Riva (formerly IRC) released two complementary learning papers on WASH systems strengthening: Monitoring WASH systems strengthening and change offers practical guidance drawing on experience in six countries, while Systems interventions for the transition from basic to safely managed water and sanitation services identifies transition pathways across rural areas, villages and small towns, and urban settings.
• The Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) published the SIWI Insight Brief: World Water Week 2026, setting out six policy priorities on governance, climate and economic decision-making, financing, shared-water cooperation, accountability and implementation ahead of the 2026 UN Water Conference.
• Two new Eawag/Sandec resources support drinking-water chlorination decisions: Guidance for chlorination planning and a practice brief on optimising chlorination in rural Nepal.
• The African Union Commission and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) published the State of Africa’s Children 2026: Special Focus on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, examining the WASH context for children across Africa and its links to health, education, gender equality, protection and climate resilience.
• The Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN) published Mapping Young (Rural) Water Professionals Development Programmes Across the Globe, providing a global evidence base on programmes developing and supporting young and early-career water professionals.

E-workshops and webinars to attend

• 30 September 2026 – 09:00 CEST: Innovation in Rural Water Supply, the first session of the SIRWASH webinar series “Enabling Environments for Rural Water and Sanitation”, hosted by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The webinar explores how innovative financing and partnerships can enable locally relevant innovation in rural water supply, drawing on experiences from Georgia, Cambodia and Colombia.
• 20 October 2026 – Financing and Incentives for Rural WASH, Session 2 of the SIRWASH webinar series “Enabling Environments for Rural Water and Sanitation”, hosted by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
• 18 November 2026 – Capacities and Institutions for Rural WASH Service Delivery, Session 3 of the SIRWASH webinar series, hosted by the World Bank.
• See the SIRWASH webinar series page for information on all sessions and registration updates.

Conferences and events to join

• 15 October 2026 – Global Handwashing Day, with campaign resources available for organisations and practitioners.
• 26–30 October 2026 – UNC Water and Health Conference 2026, hosted by the Water Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Chapel Hill, United States, and online, bringing together policymakers, practitioners and researchers on safe and sustainable WASH services.
• 8–10 December 2026 – 2026 United Nations Water Conference, co-hosted by Senegal and the United Arab Emirates in Abu Dhabi, to accelerate implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 6 and strengthen coordinated action across the global water agenda.

Opportunities to apply for

• Registration for accredited stakeholders to attend the 2026 United Nations Water Conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, from 8–10 December 2026 is open. Submission deadline: 6 November 2026.
• Accredited organisations can submit proposals for virtual side events at the 2026 United Nations Water Conference. Submission deadline: 16 October 2026.

Please consider sharing your news with all other RésEAU members by sending an email to ResEAU@dgroups.org.

Best regards,

Pierre Kistler, RésEAU Focal Point, SDC

Lucien Blaser, RésEAU Backstopper, Skat Consulting Ltd.