Clean water and

sanitation

Investment for health and sustainable

development

Dr Christoph HamelmannHead of WHO European Office for Investment for Health and

Development, Venice, Italy

12th Conference of European Regions and Cities

‘Sustainability in the Regions and Cities of Europe’

Salzburg, Austria, 25 - 27 September 2016

No water, no health, no growth

• “Sustainable” & “safe” water and

sanitation services are cornerstones for

creating healthy & resilient communities

• Improvement in water and sanitation

are the greatest “public health

milestones” since the 1840s

• Water & sanitation management is a

core responsibility of cities and regions

The unfinished business in the

European Region

• 62 million people lack access to:

– Piped water at home

– Adequate sanitation

• Major inequalities exist:

– Wealthy vs. poor

– Minorities vs. general pop

– Home vs. schools

Recent waterborne outbreaks(examples)

Place Infectious

agent

Cause Number of people Year

Northamptonshire

, United Kingdom

Parasite Ingress in water

reservoir

25% increase of

diarrhoea cases

2008

Zealand,

Denmark

Virus Break of water

pipe

368 households 2012

Vuorela,

Finland

Multiple

pathogens

Ingress in

distribution

system

3,000 cases 2012

Prague,

Czech Republic

Virus Repair work 12,000 cases 2015

Kahramanmaraş,

Turkey

Multiple

pathogens

Sewage outflow 32,000 people

admitted to hospital

2016

The water-energy-food nexus

Source: Adapted from International Renewable Energy Agency, 2015:Renewable Energy in the Water, Energy & Food Nexus

Source: International Renewable Energy Agency, 2015: Renewable Energy in the Water, Energy & Food Nexus

Climate

changeUrbanization

Population

increase

Societal

demands

Sustainable water management at stake

Draught

events

Water

stress

Regional

wastewater

reuse

Efficient

water use

& systems

High usage

patterns

Alternative

sources(desalination)

Flooding

events

Torrential

rains

Climate resilient

water & sanitation

services & infrastructures

TRANSITION

PARTNERSHIPS

Health 2020 framework

• Improving health for all, reducing

health inequalities

• Improving leadership and

participatory governance for health

DEVELOPMENTS

Two strategic objectives:

Sustainable Development Goal 6:

Clean water and sanitation

SDG 6

6.1Drinking

water6.2

Sanitation and

hygiene

6.3Water

quality and reuse

6.4Water-use efficiency

6.5Water

resource managemt.

6.6Eco-

systems

The Protocol on Water and Health

• Multilateral agreement linking sustainable

water management & protection of health

• Legally-binding requirement for time-

bound national and local target setting

• Platform for cooperation between

water, health, environment & other sectors

• Regional hub for mutual support and

capacity building

PARTNERSHIPS

PARTNERSHIPS

State of the art tools by WHO

PARTNERSHIPS

PARTNERSHIPS

Agenda 2030:

Health is central to development

Photo: Fotolia

Leaving no one

behind

Health for all

Better health for Europe

More equitable and sustainable

Special thanks to Oliver Schmoll, WHO European Centre for Environment and Health, Bonn, Germany