Uzbekistan ratified the UN Water and Health Protocol

The Republic of Uzbekistan has officially acceded to the Protocol on Water and Health, which is an addition to the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes. This decision was announced during the meeting of the Protocol parties in Budapest and became a strategic step for the country in the context of water resource scarcity and climate changes in Central Asia.

Thus, Uzbekistan has become the 29th country to assume legal obligations under this unique international agreement. The Protocol, operational since 2005, is managed in cooperation between the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the World Health Organization’s European Office.

This document is the only legally binding tool directly linking water resource management, ecology, and public health. Its primary objective is to ensure safe drinking water and sanitation for all population groups, thereby protecting citizens' health and well-being.

The relevance of joining the Protocol on Water and Health for Tashkent was emphasized by Olga Mirshina, an expert from the Sanitary and Epidemiological Well-being and Public Health Committee of the Ministry of Health. According to her, Uzbekistan's location at the heart of Central Asia makes the country particularly vulnerable to the consequences of a dry climate.

"The Protocol will become one of the crucial tools helping us develop safe drinking water supply, sanitation, and hygiene issues at public facilities," stated Mirshina. In Uzbekistan, the most populous country in Central Asia, the problem of water scarcity is especially pressing in rural areas.

According to international organizations, 89% of the urban population has access to drinking water, while in rural areas, this figure stands at only 71%. Climate forecasts are also discouraging: by 2050, water resources in the Amu Darya basin are expected to decrease by 10-15%, and in the Syr Darya basin by 2-5%.

This poses additional risks for the agriculture sector, which accounts for 90% of the country's total water consumption, and for the health of the entire nation. Adopting the Protocol obliges Uzbekistan to develop and implement national targets in water supply and sanitation and to create an effective monitoring system to track progress.

This step is an important component in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goal 6, aimed at ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. Read “Zamin” on Telegram!