UN Water is the United Nations inter-agency area for all freshwater related issues, including sanitation.
The website has a good overview of goals related to water, the specific targets, and related UN campaigns including World Water Day – which is on 22nd March this year. The website says that water is at the core of sustainable development:
“Water and sanitation are at the very core of sustainable development, critical for thriving people, planet and prosperity. Water is needed for domestic purposes, for agricultural, industrial and energy production, and these uses are highly inter-linked, potentially in competition, and they generate wastewater that may cause pollution. Water is central to climate change, linking the climate system to the environmental and socio-economic systems; climate change severs water scarcity in some parts of the world, and the risk of flooding in others. Water is a key factor in managing risks such as famine, epidemics, migration, inequalities and political instability. Integrated water resources management is essential to harness synergies as well as to manage potential trade-offs across sectors and regions, to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.”