World Water Day 2021: Valuing Water

In Kenya, community members fetch water from a water kiosk owned and operated by Boya Water Project. Photo credit: Chris Muturi/USAID KIWASH

Join USAID in celebrating World Water Day on March 22. This year's theme, "Valuing Water," raises awareness of the vital importance of water to safeguard human security and maintain the health of the planet's ecosystems. Water and sanitation issues are among the most pressing global concerns of the next decade, with more than 2 billion people still living without access to safe water, even more living without hygienic sanitation, and water scarcity increasingly affecting some of the world’s most vulnerable populations. Water and sanitation underpin the well-being, household assets, and livelihoods of vulnerable communities the world over, providing a critical foundation for meaningful progress along the humanitarian to development continuum, particularly in the face of COVID-19.

Increasing sustainable access to safe drinking water is a key objective of the U.S Government Global Water Strategy and USAID’s Water and Development Plan. In support of the water strategy, USAID seeks to provide 15 million people with sustainable access to drinking water services by 2022. During the first two years of Global Water Strategy implementation (Fiscal Years 2018 and 2019), USAID provided $835 million to support water security, sanitation, and hygiene activities in 51 countries.

USAID seeks to help partner countries better cope with rising pressures on freshwater resources, including drinking water supplies, through investments that sustainably manage and equitably allocate water supplies, expand watershed protection and restoration, and increase communities’ resilience in face of water-related shocks and stresses.

Thanks to the impact of USAID programs, communities around the world are benefiting from access to improved water and sanitation services and becoming more resilient in the face of a changing climate.

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