World Water Day 2023: Cooperation for accelerating change in the Niger River Basin

World Water Day 2023 (March 22) has the theme “Accelerating Change” through partnerships and cooperation—and coincides with a midterm review of the United Nations International Decade for Action on Water for Sustainable Development 2018-2028, which aims to 1) increase the global focus on more sustainable development; 2) accelerate funding and implementation of water-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); and with this 3) mobilize action toward achieving Agenda 2030.

Few places on Earth need accelerated change and progress toward SDG 6 on water and sanitation as much as West Africa’s Niger River Basin, which supports more than 160 million people and covers 2.23 million square kilometers. The nine countries sharing the basin suffer from extreme water, energy, and food insecurity, as well as immense environmental degradation, growing adverse climate change impacts, and overall instability, insecurity, conflict, and civil strife.

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