Why achieving SDG 2 will remain out of reach unless formal nutrition systems recognise and integrate the actors already working on the frontlines.

Climate change is deepening water inequality in East Asia, hitting women and children hardest. Discover why resilient water systems are essential for a fair future.

In southern Mozambique, emergency water systems restored by World Vision and UNICEF are providing safe water to over 22,000 people, protecting health and dignity.

Nokuthula S. Khumalo, Technical Director Global Humanitarian Surge, highlights that in prolonged crises like Syria, it is not organisational charts that protect children, but trust. As humanitarian systems shift under funding pressure and political change, Thula reflects on how internal instability shows up in delayed care, weakened safeguarding, and broken continuity for children. Opening offices is quick; earning staff confidence after years of uncertainty is not. Thula emphasises that listening, presence and honest communication matter more than procedural fixes when certainty is impossible. Fourteen years into the Syria crisis, if children are to experience continuity, safety, and care during humanitarian transitions, then staff stability and trust must be funded as deliberately as security, supply chains or monitoring systems. Trusted frontline teams are the backbone of safe, child-focused action.

World Vision’s localisation approach promotes locally led development and humanitarian action through equitable partnerships, shared power, and community leadership.

A cholera outbreak that began in December 2025 in the Manika Health Zone of Kolwezi, Democratic Republic of Congo, has prompted a coordinated response from health authorities, community health workers, and humanitarian partners. With support from World Vision, essential medical supplies, water treatment materials, and sanitation equipment were provided to strengthen prevention, treatment, and community awareness efforts. Community health workers have played a central role in educating families about hygiene practices, water chlorination, and early referral of suspected cases. Through these combined efforts, thousands of residents in high-risk neighbourhoods have received clean water and cholera prevention messages. While the response is helping reduce transmission risks, health authorities warn that continued vigilance and community mobilisation remain essential due to ongoing population movement and the risk of the outbreak spreading to neighbouring areas.

On World Water Day 2026, East Asia stands at a critical crossroads. Climate change is transforming water, once a foundation of economic growth and social stability, into one of the region’s sharpest drivers of inequality. And this inequality is not evenly felt. It falls hardest on women and girls, children, persons with disabilities, and rural and marginalised communities whose access to safe water was already fragile. By Alexander Pandian, WASH Programmes Senior Advisor, World Vision East Asia

World Vision strengthens local civil society in Eastern Europe, empowering youth, supporting EU reforms, and promoting sustainable, locally led development.

Where Water Flows, Equality Grows

This World Water Day, find out how the provision of clean water in Humaira’s village has not only saved lives but enhanced women’s decision making power.