This initiative demonstrates the country’s commitment to tackling critical water and sanitation challenges amidst a growing population and the harsh realities of climate change.

The Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), Tatiana Molchan, welcomed Uzbekistan’s accession and urged other Central Asian nations and the wider region to follow this example.

The Protocol on Water and Health, jointly serviced by UNECE and WHO-Europe, adopted in 1999 is a unique legally binding instrument aiming to protect human health by better water management and by reducing water-related diseases. The Protocol provides a practical framework to translate into practice the human rights to water and sanitation and to implement SDG 6. 29 countries are the parties to the Protocol.