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President's remarks | 22 July 2024

G20 Development Ministers’ Meeting: Ensuring access to water and sanitation

Statement by Alvaro Lario, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

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Excellencies,

Thank BRZ for hospitality+great organization+leadership on putting Poverty and Hunger on central stage.

Water is the essence of life, prosperity, and peace.

We welcome the G20's initiative to prioritize WASH, recognizing its profound impact on global stability and development and its role in reducing inequality, poverty and hunger, and achieving good health and wellbeing.

Water and sanitation are specially critical in rural areas, where four out of five people lack basic drinking water services.

Rural water security also underpins food security. Agriculture accounts for 70% of global freshwater withdrawals and at the same time +3bn people are currently in living in agricultural areas with high levels of water stress. Without sustainable water management, food production is at risk, leading to higher food prices and increased hunger and instability.

Small-scale Farmers need reliable water sources for irrigation, livestock, and personal use. When these needs are unmet food insecurity rises, crop yields diminish, and livestock health deteriorates.

That is why Investments in water infrastructure in rural areas can transform agricultural practices and accelerate economic growth in rural areas, where 80% of the extreme poor live.

As the only IFI solely focused on rural areas, this is IFAD’s raison d’etre and mission: to invest in improved irrigation techniques, rainwater harvesting, and efficient water use can significantly enhance crop yields, production, incomes and, thus, livelihoods.

As an example, IFAD, in collaboration with the Government of Brazil and the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES), is investing in water infrastructure to support small-scale producers. This initiative, supporting one million rural people in the semi-arid and highly vulnerable region of Sertão, Northeast of Brazil, aims to improve irrigation systems, provide clean drinking water, and enhance water management,

With almost US$3 billion of IFAD’s portfolio focused on the rural water sector, we intend to invest even more in the years ahead.

Moreover, empowering rural communities with knowledge and technology to manage water resources will foster resilience against climate change. Currently, climate variability and extreme weather events are threatening water availability, making it imperative to increase climate adaptation investments to to enhance resilience and sustainability.

Excellencies,

Let me finalise with some good news. Last week, as Chair of UN-Water which brings together the WASH community, the UN institutions, the WASH NGOs and the WASH PS, we presented in NY the first system-wide strategy on Water and Sanitation that aims at addressing these challenges comprehensively. The new strategy is the system’s biggest step to ensure that the UN plays a central role in supporting member states to deliver faster and greater action on water and sanitation on the ground.

Let us redouble our efforts and investments to making water security and sanitation a priority, recognizing that it is vital for a prosperous and peaceful future for all.

You can count on IFAD to continue mobilising global investments towards rural water and sanitation, rural food security and climate adaptation with our common goal to eradicate hunger and poverty.

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