World Water Day 2025: Glacier Preservation and Health

22 – 21 March 2025

World Water Day, observed annually on 22 March since 1993, underscores the essential role of freshwater in our lives and calls for collective action to tackle the global water crisis. With 2.2 billion people still lacking access to safe water, this day serves as a powerful reminder of the urgent need to ensure Sustainable Development Goal 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030.

The theme for World Water Day 2025 is Glacier Preservation, highlighting the critical importance of safeguarding glaciers as vital freshwater sources. Glaciers regulate global water cycles and support ecosystems and communities worldwide. Their rapid melting due to climate change threatens water security, livelihoods, and health, particularly for the most vulnerable populations.

Access to safe water is fundamental to Women, Children, and Adolescents’ Health (WCAH). Lack of clean water and sanitation leads to infections, poor maternal and newborn health outcomes, and preventable deaths. As underscored in the WHA77 resolution on reducing maternal, newborn, and child mortality and morbidity, access to water is not just a resource issue but a life-saving necessity. Tackling water insecurity is a cornerstone of ensuring the health and survival of women, children, and adolescents worldwide.

On World Water Day 2025, PMNCH emphasizes the critical link between water and health:

  • Improving maternal and newborn health: Safe water is essential during childbirth to prevent infections and ensure hygienic conditions for mothers and babies.
  • Reducing childhood illnesses: Access to clean water and sanitation reduces diarrheal diseases, which are a leading cause of child mortality globally.
  • Empowering adolescent health: Clean water ensures access to proper hygiene and menstrual health management, enabling adolescent girls to thrive and remain in school.

World Water Day also calls for bold action to:

  • Protect water resources by prioritizing climate resilience and glacier preservation.
  • Ensure water access for marginalized communities, including women and children in low-resource settings.
  • Integrate water and sanitation into global health strategies, recognizing its role in reducing inequality and improving health outcomes.

Let’s take this opportunity to amplify the message that water is health, water is equity, and water is life. Share stories, mobilize communities, and use the hashtag #WorldWaterDay to inspire global dialogue and action.

Together, we can safeguard glaciers, secure water for all, and strengthen health systems to ensure a brighter future for every woman, child, and adolescent.

UNWATER campaign assets for advocacy: