As part of the speech given by Inés María Chapman, Vice Prime Minister of Cuba, the country that pro tempore presides over that organization, the official stated that the Group observes with concern the lack of access to sources of drinking water, basic sanitation and proper hygiene.
He also stressed how disasters related to the vital liquid, its scarcity and contamination, will be aggravated by urbanization, population growth, desertification, drought and other extreme meteorological phenomena and climate change, as well as the lack of capacities to guarantee an integrated management of hydraulic resources.
She referred to the need for developing nations to access greater international financing, training, and transfer of environmentally sound technologies in order to achieve efficiency in resource management, and reiterated that Official Development Assistance is needed for the hydraulic sector.
It is imperative to expand international cooperation to developing countries in activities and programs related to water and sanitation.
Currently, she said, more than 50 percent of the world’s cities suffer from frequent situations of water scarcity and estimates suggest that 6.7 trillion dollars (millions of millions) will be needed by 2030, and 22.6 trillion by 2050, for access to clean and drinkable water throughout the world.
The Group also expresses, it added, its concern that the shortage exceeds 70 percent, especially in some countries, such as North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, Western Asia, Central and Southern Asia and South America, as well as in the Lake Chad region.
The repercussions of these challenges, she asserted, may affect the ability of these regions to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Group of 77 plus China supports efforts to ensure continued progress in the implementation of the Goals of the International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development”, as well as the 2030 Agenda, in a challenging and constantly changing environment, she sentenced.
The United Nations Conference on the Comprehensive Midterm Review on the Achievement of the Goals of the International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028, began today and will end next Friday the 24th.
According to the program, six plenary sessions and five interactive dialogues are planned, in addition to special high-level events and other parallel events organized by States, the United Nations system and other actors.
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