SWA’s role at the U.N. Water Conference

The 2026 UN Water Conference, co-hosted by Senegal and the United Arab Emirates, will take place in Abu Dhabi in December 2026. This landmark event aims to accelerate progress on Sustainable Development Goal 6 on clean water and sanitation, with a strong focus on climate resilience, equity and sustainable development. It is a vital platform for governments, UN bodies, civil society and partners to move from commitments to measurable results.

Sanitation and Water for All is supporting the shaping of the Conference and the follow-up actions that flow from it, offering a set of tested mechanisms to help convert political will into delivery. At the highest level, its Heads of State Initiatives work alongside presidents and prime ministers to make water and sanitation a priority of their mandate, with 32 countries engaged to date.

Complementing these initiatives, the High-Level Leaders Compact on Water Security and Resilience (the Madrid Compact) was endorsed by ministers at SWA's 2025 Sector Ministers' Meeting. The Compact brings climate adaptation, human rights and economic development together in a single framework and gives ministers a foundation of global consensus from which to build commitment at the highest level of government, including through national Heads of State and Government compacts. Till date, it has been endorsed by 30 countries and 35 organizations, and remains open for further endorsement. The Conference is an opportunity to broaden that support and turn the Compact's commitments into national action.

Underpinning this work is SWA's Mutual Accountability Mechanism, the only global accountability process of its kind in the sector, which helps governments and partners set commitments and hold one another to account, with more than 560 tabled to date. And building on its climate work, including the launch of its Climate-Resilient WASH definition and implementation framework at COP30, SWA supports countries to embed water and sanitation in their national climate strategies. Together, these offer the Conference ready-made pathways from commitment to delivery.