As lead authors of the IPBES Nexus Report - ‘Assessment Report on the Interlinkages Among Biodiversity, Water, Food and Health,’ ICIMOD’s Sunita Chaudhary, Biodiversity lead and Abid Hussain, Economies Lead, share eight critical points for addressing interconnected challenges on biodiversity, water, food, health, and climate in the Hindu Kush Himalaya.
As the world prepares to mark World Water Day 2026 under the theme of “Where Water Flows: Equality Grows,” global attention is turning to a critical and often overlooked reality: water security and gender equality are deeply interconnected. This connection is at the heart of the United Nations World Water Development Report (WWDR) 2026. The report, titled Water for All People: Equal Rights and Opportunities, brings together evidence, policy insights, and practical solutions to advance more inclusive water systems.
Released annually by UN-Water, the report not only tracks global trends in freshwater and sanitation but also translates policy commitments into actionable pathways: from problem analysis to evidence-informed programme design and implementation. This year’s focus is clear: achieving water security requires addressing structural gender inequalities embedded within water systems.
And the numbers make that urgency impossible to ignore. In 2024, one in four women globally lacked access to safely managed drinking water, while over 40% lacked safe sanitation. Across 53 countries, women and girls collectively spend an estimated 250 million hours every day collecting water. This represents time taken away from education, paid work, and rest. In seven out of 10 households without water, this responsibility falls on women, often requiring long walks through physically and under socially unsafe conditions. These are not just service delivery gaps, they reflect deeper structural inequalities in how water is accessed, distributed, and governed.
Why this matters even more in the HKH
This intersection is particularly critical in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH), the “Water Tower of Asia.” This region sustains nearly two billion people, providing freshwater and ecosystem services to 240 million people in the mountains, and about 1.65 billion downstream. Its glaciers, rivers, and springs underpin the region’s agriculture, energy, ecosystems, and livelihoods.
Yet this vital system is under growing stress. Even in a 1.5°C warming scenario, glaciers could lose up to one third of their volume by 2100, and up to two thirds under current emission trends. This will fundamentally alter river flows, increasing flood risks in the short term and leading to water scarcity in the long term: a tipping point often described as “peak water.”
Within this unfolding crisis, women and girls are on the frontlines. As primary managers of household water, they are responsible for securing water for homes, farms, and livestock. Across South Asia, this translates into hours spent collecting water, often under unsafe conditions. In Nepal, women and girls are up to 25 times more likely than men to collect water where access is limited. In urban contexts like Dhaka, long queues, unreliable supply, and poor infrastructure further intensify this burden.
Empowering women in water systems is therefore not only a matter of equity, it is essential for resilience and sustainability.
The hidden cost of water inequality
At its core, water inequality is not just about access, it is about power, participation, and policy. Despite their central role, women remain underrepresented in decision making and water governance. As of 2023, 15% of countries still lacked mechanisms for women’s participation in water-related decision-making. Yet evidence consistently shows that when women are involved - from community systems to formal institutions - outcomes improve, including in productivity, nutrition, and household wellbeing.
Where water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services are inadequate, women and girls bear a disproportionate burden. At the same time, their limited representation in governance, financing, and infrastructure development restricts their access to resources and decision-making power. This exclusion has cascading effects, not only on health and livelihoods, but also on food security and broader development outcomes. Structural barriers further deepen this divide. Insecure land tenure and housing rights often limit access to water services, particularly for women. Even where formal ownership exists, control over water resources is not guaranteed, highlighting the persistent gap between access and agency.
Critical investments, such as gender-responsive WASH in schools and health facilities, including menstrual hygiene management, are essential for dignity, health, and education. But beyond infrastructure, the challenge is systemic: water inequality is also a crisis of representation.
Addressing this requires moving beyond incremental inclusion towards gender-transformative approaches—reforms that tackle root causes, strengthen women’s leadership, and enable meaningful participation in decision-making. Progress, however, continues to be constrained by a lack of sex-disaggregated data in the water sector, limiting our ability to measure inequality and design effective responses.
From solutions to systems change
Encouragingly, across the HKH, practical solutions are already demonstrating what inclusive water management can achieve. Spring-shed restoration initiatives are reviving drying water sources by combining science, local knowledge, and a strong gender and social inclusion lens, restoring year-round water access while strengthening climate resilience. At the systems level, tools that integrate gender and social inclusion into water modelling are helping ensure more equitable and climate-responsive water allocation.
Capacity-building efforts in integrated river basin management are equipping professionals with the skills to address water challenges through holistic and inclusive governance. Meanwhile, initiatives like the Women on Ice expedition are reshaping leadership in cryosphere science by empowering early-career women with field experience, technical skills, and regional networks.
Together, these efforts signal a critical shift: from addressing women as beneficiaries to recognising them as leaders in building sustainable water futures.
From access to impact: a story of change
This shift is not just theoretical; it is already transforming lives. For Khanduom, an asparagus farmer in Bhutan, access to water changed everything. With limited irrigation, her one-acre farm struggled despite efforts to store rainwater. The introduction of solar lift irrigation marked a turning point. Within a year, her income more than doubled. Today, she is earning steadily and building resilience. Her story reflects a simple but powerful truth: when women gain access to water, they gain opportunity. When they gain agency, they drive transformation.
Moving forward: from access to leadership
Recognising the need for systemic change, global efforts are increasingly placing gender equality at the centre of water governance. Through its World Water Assessment Programme, UNESCO is advancing tools, capacity building, and partnerships to support gender-responsive water management worldwide.
But the message of WWDR 2026 is clear: removing barriers to women’s access, leadership, and decision-making is not just a matter of justice, it is fundamental to the effectiveness and sustainability of water systems. Because when women are excluded, water systems fall short.
And when inclusion is prioritised, solutions become stronger, more equitable, and more resilient.