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In their efforts to stave off a second wave of COVID-19, scientists from around the world have turned to a new ally: sewage. Given that many people with the virus are asymptomatic and will not be tested for the disease, scientists say sewage could act like a COVID-19 early warning system.

For more information, see UNEP’s factsheet on COVID-19, wastewater and sewage

An estimated 4.5 billion people worldwide live without access to safely managed sanitation, putting them at risk of infectious diseases. Climate change exacerbates these risks by placing strain on sanitation systems. Therefore, sanitation technologies and services must be designed, operated and managed to cope with climate change and minimise public health risks.

Download the World Health Organization (WHO) discussion paper ‘Climate, Sanitation and Health’.

The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the worst-ever biological disasters. While countries continue to respond to the global crisis, they are also moving towards recovery and adaptation planning at the national and sub-national levels. We need to ensure that these efforts don’t just address current risks but also take into consideration climate impacts, including extreme and slow onset events.

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) brief ‘‘Planning for climate change during COVID-19 crisis: the role of humanitarian and disaster risk management actors’.

As countries around the world are in different stages of responding to the COVID-19 emergency, how should aid agencies and policy makers approach recovery while also addressing climate change?

The World Bank blog ‘Natural disasters and vulnerable groups: Insights for an inclusive and sustainable recovery from COVID-19‘ provides a few lessons from experience in disaster risk management.

Countries are declaring states of emergency while climate change is increasing variability in weather patterns, and other risks such as financial shocks are likely. Therefore, the need to build the general resilience of populations and prepare for these intersecting risks is critical. This will require nations to break down existing silos between sectors, including disaster management, health, meteorology, agriculture and finance.

Learn more in this International Water Management Institute (IWMI) article ‘Why nations must prepare for natural disasters amid the current Covid-19 pandemic’.

The COVID-19 pandemic has meant that handwashing has made it to the front page of many newspapers. But to fight the pandemic, it is critical that water and sanitation services continue uninterrupted and that efforts are made to increase coverage.

Read the full IRC article ‘Smarter emergency measures against COVID-19 needed to ensure lasting solutions in service provision’.

COVID19 pandemic: a global threat. What else should we pay attention to? Many infectious diseases are easily transmitted when people have inadequate accesses to toilets, when faeces are insufficiently treated and disposed of, and when personal and domestic hygiene are lacking.

Video by the Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation on COVID19 and adequate sanitation, available in French | English | Spanish

Because handwashing is an important way to reduce transmission, the response to COVID-19 intersects with issues around global access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). This community page on the Water Action Hub seeks to highlight the connections between COVID-19 response and WASH issues, as well as other connections between COVID-19 and water, climate, and equity challenges.

Want to help fight COVID-19? List your organization’s work on the CEO Water Mandate Water Action Hub.

Nowhere near enough money is being spent on climate change, and the low levels of funding allocated aren’t being targeted to help the worst affected countries deal with the effects, putting billions of lives at risk.

Learn more in the WaterAid report ‘Short-changed on climate change: money, water and the people on the frontline’.

COVID-19 has taken lives, devastated economies, and upended relationships. It threatens a new normal fraught with fear and uncertainty. But it has also allowed us to take stock of the interconnected nature of our shared humanity and provide impetus for nations and communities to build back stronger.

Learn more in the UN Network on Migration article ‘Enhancing access to services for migrants in the context of COVID-19 preparedness, prevention, and response and beyond‘.