The first meeting of the Parties to the Protocol on Water and Health took place in Geneva on 17-19 January 2007. The Protocol on Water and Health to the Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes was adopted in London on 17 June 1999 and entered into force on 4 August 2005. So far, the Protocol has been ratified by 20 countries.

The main aim of the Protocol on Water and Health is to protect human health and well being by better water management, including the protection of water ecosystems, and by preventing, controlling and reducing water-related diseases.

During the meeting, the Parties reviewed and adopted their work programme for the period of 2007-2009. The programme covered setting targets under the Protocol, reporting on progress achieved, systems for surveillance of and response to water-related disease, the human right to water and equitable access to safe drinking-water, water supply and sanitation and climate change adaptation strategies, public-awareness and capacity-building activities.

Parties will also examine the progress achieved in the field of national/local outbreak detection, early warning systems, contingency plans and capacity response.

The spread of diseases transmitted by water is especially common in Eastern Europe and Central Asia; especially rural population is exposed to poor quality water and with this to poor sanitation as well. Particularly children are vulnerable to infectious diseases caused by poor-quality drinking water.

After the meeting, a roundtable discussion was organized with the title ‘The Human Right to Water and the Protocol on Water and Health: making access to water a reality’. The Roundtable brought together the human rights, health and environment communities to exchange views and work towards a common understanding of this issue.

Read more on the conference website .