World Water Day: March 22, 2026

World Water Day is an annual United Nations observance that celebrates water, bringing to attention the global water crisis. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) #6 is to achieve safe water and sanitation for everyone by 2030. This year's theme is "Water & Gender: Where Water Flows, Equality Grows." It highlights how gender equality is tied to safe water and water acquisition... and what happens when they’re not. This also ties to SDG Goal #5 through gender equality. Through both of these, the message is clear: safe water and sanitation are rights, not privileges, for all people and all genders.

Unfortunately, women and girls are disproportionately affected by water problems because of many reasons: unsafe or distant water sources, poor sanitation, and the fact that women are often left out of the decisions about how water is managed. Additionally, women and girls in many countries are the ones fetching the water, walking for hours to access the water. This in turn prevents them from being able to attend school or working in a paid position. It also places them in multiple unsafe situations along the journey, leaving them exhausted and more prone to sickness. It also creates additional issues of sanitation during times when girls and women are menstruating.

Despite the fact that access to safe drinking water is a human right, billions of people worldwide still lack access and safe management of water and sanitation services. Globally unsafe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) are responsible for deaths of approximately 1,000 children aged 0-5 daily. 

When communities secure reliable, safe water, and sanitation close to home, you start to see:

• Girls who are able to spend more time in school and less time questing and walking for water.
• Women who are able to take part in paid work, community leadership, and decision-making.
• Health improvements overall--from individuals to families, which then spreads economically in their ability to work and then spreads to their communities. 

By ignoring women’s experiences and their knowledge when it comes to these factors, water systems fail the people who use them most. Women need to be at the table when it comes to these decisions. In doing so, it builds a more hopeful future, one drop of water and one decision at a time.

 To learn more about World Water Day, check out the following resources:

• United Nations World Water Day: Where Water Flows Equality Grows Overview
• UN World Water Day Background Page
• UN World Water Day Fact Page
• UN World Water Day Activation Kit with activities for schools (listed by age ranges), communities, and other ways to actively engage and spread information about the importance of women, water, and safety.
• UN "Where Water Flows, Equality Grows" Posters
• UN Trello page of World Water Day resources 

To find all of these resources in another language, go to the section about 2026 Theme: Women & Gender.

Images from https://www.un.org/en/observances/water-day-new/background-new and https://www.unwater.org/sites/default/files/2026-01/WWD2026_Posters_English.pdf and https://www.instagram.com/reels/CyL1C9IpH91/; Video from https://youtu.be/nFpcoji4gh0?si=e3eyf6aPMCaiZ2OF