The World Water Development Report (WWDR) is a thematically focused and strategically oriented report published annually in March by UN-Water on the occasion of World Water Day, covering topics such as the global status of drinking water supply.
The theme for World Water Day 2026 is ‘Water and Gender’.
Access to safe and affordable drinking water and sanitation services, and to adequate water supplies for various other purposes, is essential for the fulfilment of the most basic needs and fundamental aspirations of all human beings. When access to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services is lacking, women and girls often disproportionally bear the responsibility for providing water to households.
On the other hand, women are generally under-represented in the governance and management of water supplies, including financing and water-related infrastructure development. This can hinder their access to water resource and the equal sharing of benefits, threatening their health, livelihoods and food security.
The key findings of this year’s report are:
- Gender equality constitutes an essential path towards fair and just access to, and use of, water.
- Gender inequalities in WASH services occur as part of a pattern of other inequalities and discriminatory social practices.
- The access to access to drinking water, sanitation and hygiene in workplaces is known to improve workforce productivity and health
- Valuing unpaid care and domestic labour within water service delivery systems and pricing frameworks could help to recognize the full economic contribution of women to water management.
- There are stark gender gaps in water governance, leadership and financing.
UNESCO coordinates the preparation of the report through its World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) on behalf of more than 30 United Nations organisations that together form the UN-Water coordinating body. The WWDR has been published since 2003, first on a 3-year basis and evolving into an annual report since 2014.
Each edition of the WWDR focuses on a different topic, which is identical to the theme of the corresponding World Water Day, celebrated annually on 22 March since 1993, as proclaimed by the UN General Assembly (A/RES/47/193). World Water Day 2026 is running under the theme “Water and Gender”.
As part of its membership in the UN-Water Family and role as a UNESCO Category 2 Centre, ICWRGC is closely involved in the WWDR and World Water Day, based on close cooperation in terms of content and organisation within the framework of the United Nations.
Gender equality and sustainable water management are closely interlinked,” says Dr Stephan Dietrich, Director of the ICWRGC. “The work of our centre – from providing hydrological data to facilitating knowledge exchange – aims to strengthen evidence-based decision-making that takes these social dimensions into account. By incorporating gender perspectives into global water policy, we are not only improving equity but also the resilience and effectiveness of water management worldwide”.
Technical input & data: ICWRGC provides global hydrological data and maintains databases on global water quality and soil moisture, which are incorporated into the WWDR analyses.
Translation & dissemination: ICWRGC and BfG have supported the German UNESCO Commission in translating the executive summaries into German in the past and are now providing the entire translation.
Access the full report here.
Join the special event spotlighting the UN World Water Development Report (WWDR) 2026, “Water for All People: Equal Rights and Opportunities” here.
You can also watch a short documentary highlighting the main messages of this year’s theme, “Water for All People: Equal Rights and Opportunities”.
