High-Level Preparatory Meeting in Senegal sets stage for UN Water Conference 2026. Photo credits: https://unwaterconf.sn/en/gallery

News SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation for All 9 February 2026

High-Level Preparatory Meeting in Senegal sets stage for UN Water Conference 2026

#UN2026WaterConference #Sanitation #DrinkingWater

On 26 and 27 January 2026, Senegal and the United Arab Emirates hosted the High-Level Preparatory Meeting for the 2026 UN Water Conference. It brought together over 2,000 water professionals from governments, international organisations and civil society. The meeting was a platform to shape the Conference agenda, strengthen stakeholder engagement, and discuss key themes for the upcoming event, scheduled for 2-4 December 2026 in Abu Dhabi.

The high-level discussions focused on the six Interactive Water Dialogues, insights from more than 30 thematic side events, and strategies for advancing global water priorities at both the 2026 and 2028 Water Conferences. In addition, the meeting featured the launch of the UN-Water Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water (GLAAS) 2025 Report, highlighting global progress in water, sanitation, and hygiene financing. The High-Level Preparatory Meeting was preceded by a one-day meeting with stakeholders from the global water community, convened by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) in partnership with the African Civil Society Network on Water and Sanitation (ANEW) and the German WASH Network.

The meeting reflected statements put forward by the Netherlands and emphasised the importance of strengthening collaboration in a fragmented water landscape. It also highlighted the need to reinforce water’s role within the UN system beyond 2030 and keep water high on the agenda of national and local decision-makers, where implementation and impact are realised.

Mrs. Retno l. P. MARSUDI, envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General for Water. Photo credits: https://unwaterconf.sn/en/gallery

Key outcome: Framework for the six Interactive Water Dialogues

Building on the thematic dialogues of the 2023 Water Conference, six themes were selected to serve as the framework for discussions at the 2026 event. The co-chairs of each of the dialogues were publicly announced at the Preparatory Meeting. Going forward, the co-chairs are responsible for preparing the discussions and their outcomes. The countries that will act as co-chairs are listed below. They will be supported by informal working groups comprising stakeholders from governments, civil society, and the global water community.

Ghana and Switzerland: Water for People – The human right to water and sanitation, including for those in vulnerable situations, for healthy societies and economies. Link
China and Spain: Water for Prosperity – Valuing water, the water-energy-food nexus, advancing integrated and sustainable water resource management, wastewater and water-use efficiency across sectors, and economic and social development. Link
Egypt and Japan: Water for Planet – Climate, biodiversity, desertification, environment, source to sea, resilience, and disaster risk reduction (DRR). Link
Finland and Zambia: Water for Cooperation – Transboundary and international water cooperation, including scientific cooperation and inclusive governance. Link
Germany and Mexico: Water in Multilateral Processes – SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation), the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and beyond, and global water initiatives. Link
France and South Africa: Investments for Water – Financing, technology and innovation, and capacity building. Link

Concept notes were prepared for each dialogue. During a brief consultation period, stakeholders from the global water community were invited to share comments and suggestions which have been summarised in a report. A call for side events for the themes of the interactive dialogues will be issued later this year.

Signing of a Mou by Deltares and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification to strengthen global drought resilience

Contributions of the Dutch water sector

The Netherlands was represented at the Preparatory Meeting by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. The Water Envoy for the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Ms Meike van Ginneken, facilitated discussions and shared expertise in various sessions. The Dutch water sector organisations involved included Aqua for All, Deltares, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, IRC, the Netherlands Red Cross, TU Delft, Wavemakers, and Women for Water Partnership.

IHE Delft plays an important role in the Transboundary Water Cooperation Coalition and engaged in various panels and side events on water education. With UNESCO and UN-DESA, IHE Delft also co-organised a session on the Capacity Development Initiative that emphasised the essential role of water education and capacity development in sustainable investments to achieve SDG 6. Read more

The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Aqua for All signed the second phase of the Making Water Count programme, a long-term initiative that accelerates access to safe drinking water and sanitation while unlocking private investment in emerging markets. In addition, Aqua for All announced a new partnership with the UN Global Compact CEO Water Mandate’s Water Resilience Coalition. Read more

Deltares signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) to strengthen cooperation in addressing drought-related challenges. The MoU aims to support vulnerable countries in accessing the technical, financial, and institutional assistance needed to build resilience to drought. Read more

The Netherlands hosted a side event on the results and pathways to scale of the Water at the Heart of Climate Action initiative, an ambitious partnership between the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, The Netherlands Red Cross, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and the World Meteorological Organization. Read more

TU Delft’s Climate Safety & Security Centre and its Water Management department were represented and took part in dialogues on water security, adaptation and transboundary basin water issues with several African partners. One of their goals is to co-organise sessions at the upcoming UN Water Conference in the UAE. Read more

The structural engagement of non-state actors—including organisations, indigenous groups, and those emphasising the role of women in multilateral water processes—was highlighted by various groups, including the Women for Water Partnership and the Women in Water Diplomacy Network. The latter organised the Dakar Water Diplomacy Symposium on 24 January, together with its partners. Read more

IRC participated in several sessions and Heads of States dialogues in the presence of Aminata Touré, the former Prime Minister of Senegal and member of SWA's Global Leadership Council, to discuss enduring challenges in the area of water, sanitation and hygiene. A key point on the road to the UN Water Conference 2026 is the Africa Water & Sanitation Systems Leadership Symposium, to be held in Kigali from 17-21 August. Read more

Wavemakers United Foundation participated not only in the Preparatory Meeting but also in the Youth Interactive Days. The Youth Interactive Days serve as a preparatory event for high-level meetings with the aim of aligning youth voices around SDG 6. Young people must be meaningfully involved in shaping solutions and policies – moving from participation to co-creation. Read more

Launch of the GLAAS 2025 Report

During the Preparatory Meeting, the UN-Water Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water (GLAAS) 2025 report was also published. It provides a comprehensive global assessment of national drinking-water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) systems."The report, produced by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), draws on data from 105 countries and territories and 21 development partners. It examines the core components of national WASH systems – including policies and plans, institutional arrangements, monitoring and data use, regulation and surveillance, human resources, and financing.

In addition to providing a global snapshot, the report presents disaggregated analyses by country, WASH subsectors, Sustainable Development Goal regions, and income groups. It highlights key trends, progress, and persistent gaps at the national level.

Complementing the report, the GLAAS 2025 key findings distil information across the report’s main thematic areas, and focus on country system building blocks, implementation challenges, international cooperation and capacity-building, local participation, leaving no one behind, and the link between WASH and climate.

Download the GLAAS 2025 report and the GLAAS 2025 key findings here.

Background

Previous UN Water Conferences were held in 1977 and 2023 (the latter co-hosted by the Netherlands and Tajikistan in New York in March 2023). The 2026 UN Water Conference will be followed by the United Nations Conference on the Final Comprehensive Review of the Implementation of the Objectives of the International Decade for Action, Water for Sustainable Development, 2018-2028, in 2028. This conference will take stock of achievements regarding SDG 6, and of the decade as a whole.