Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) and the United Nations in Guyana yesterday formally launched a programme of activities supported by catalytic funding from UN-Water, designed to strengthen national action on water and sanitation and accelerate progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) and contribute to the progressive realization of the human rights to a safe, accessible and affordable drinking water and sanitation for all.
The inception meeting, held at the Guyana Water Inc.’s Boardroom, brought together the Chief Executive Officer of GWI Mr. Shaik Baksh, United Nations Resident Coordinator a.i, Katy Thompson, and representatives of various UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes.
Guyana was selected by UN-Water through a competitive process following the joint preparation of an expression of interest by GWI and the UN Country Team. GWI contributed directly to the successful submission and will serve as the principal national technical counterpart during implementation.
The programme will support several complementary outputs, including a validated SDG 6 Progress Snapshot; a Country Water Day 2027 Dialogue; the “What Water Means to Me” community and communications initiative; knowledge products; and the identification of follow-up programming, technical-assistance and partnership opportunities to strengthen equitable access to sanitation and sustainable water management, including in remote communities.
United Nations Resident Coordinator Katy Thompson a.i. emphasised the catalytic nature of the partnership.
“This initiative demonstrates how the UN can complement national leadership by bringing together technical expertise, evidence, partnerships and convening power. Our objective is not simply to deliver individual activities, but to use this opportunity to generate stronger coordination, practical solutions and longer-term partnerships around Guyana’s water priorities. Strengthening water security also helps communities adapt to climate-related challenges, including changing rainfall patterns, droughts, floods, El Niño-related impacts and sea-level rise, making water a powerful accelerator for the SDGs,” she said.
The Chief Executive Officer of GWI underscored the importance of continued collaboration with international development partners as Guyana works to strengthen and expand its water and sanitation services.
“Guyana has benefitted through very strong partnerships with the UN, such as through the WASH and CReW+ programmes. It is only with close collaboration can we achieve our goals and objectives. I think we have gone a far way here, because as a country, we’ve already achieved 98.3 per cent potable water access, and we’re moving to 100 per cent by the year 2030,” he said.
GWI and participating UN entities will complement the grant through in-kind contributions, technical expertise, staff time, existing institutional resources, data and communications support, helping to maximise the catalytic value of the funding.
The representative of UN-Water, the inter-agency coordination mechanism for water and sanitation issues in the UN system, affirmed support, “On behalf of UN-Water, I express our readiness to remain engaged with Guyana as implementation advances. We hope that this seed funding can serve as a catalyst for a investable national water process capable of attracting the partnerships needed to accelerate SDG 6,” said Ms. Kelly Ann Naylor.
Partners also agreed to coordinate closely on the “What Water Means to Me” initiative and other knowledge and communications products to strengthen synergies and maximise the reach of joint efforts.
The initiative is expected to provide a foundation for further technical assistance, joint programming and resource mobilisation, including partnerships that can support Guyana’s longer-term objective of providing safe, reliable potable water to communities across the country.
