A new project of the Foundation promotes the access to water and hygiene in schools in Morocco’s most impoverished areas. The health and economic crisis unleashed by Covid-19 threatens the sustainable development of Magreb, one of the areas in the world most affected by desertification caused by climate change. The solidarity of its population is its strength.

45 finalists! We can already see their 3-minute short films and vote for them. Despite Covid-19, participation in the festival and its international projection have dramatically grown: 3,362 registered authors from 131 countries. The outstanding quality of the pieces has forced the pre-selection committee to increase the number of finalists to 45.  

During the most drastic months of lockdown we have observed forgotten or unusual aspects of nature, but satellites have seen much more, especially in the water. The pandemic has allowed us to obtain data from nature with less pollution and science has taken the opportunity to find more answers. We need them.

The termination of tourism activity due to the pandemic has driven many communities to extreme poverty and slowed down the rise of sustainable tourism. This is one of the keys to attain the SDGs in 2030 and a “green economy” model to face climate change. Amidst a severe crisis we must, more than ever, promote an activity that ethically distributes wealth towards people and the environment.

Combining the adaptation and mitigation of climate change through water is proposed as the most effective way to overcome the survival challenge humanity is facing. Water is part of the solution. Cooperation is the key to achieve it.

The fear of coronavirus infection has revealed the social scourge of stigma. Some health professionals and other groups that have been at the frontline with their work have suffered social rejection. This is an attitude that, beyond the pandemic, affects the poorest and most discriminated people, as is often the case in the world of access to water and sanitation. We must end this burden to attain the Sustainable Development Goals. Viruses, like water, know no borders, ethnicities or social classes.

The spread of the coronavirus pandemic has coincided with the confirmation of the increasing deterioration of climate data. Droughts, heat waves and violent phenomena are the source of famines, increase poverty and threaten to cause more damage than coronavirus in the long term. Both the health and climate crises, albeit with different time scales, are universal and require immediate action.

Women, who often suffer from exploitation, violence and neglect, play the most committed role in any crisis. Nowadays, those who suffer the lack of access to water and sanitation are also the most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The SDG 5 is in serious danger and we cannot tolerate this. No solution is possible without women being at the center of the response.