July 2013: UN-Water has launched a series of Water Country Briefs designed to demonstrate the value of investment in water resources to policy makers in the fields of: peace and security; infrastructure investment; agriculture; health; education; environment; and macro- and micro-economy.

The Water Country Briefs project, which is being implemented by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the UN (FAO) Aqua-Stat programme, was designed to initially produce between ten and 15 briefs. Thirteen have been released for: Chile, Guyana, Mexico, the Gambia, Ghana, Tanzania, Zambia, Bangladesh, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Oman, the Philippines, and Viet Nam. The Briefs include information on why investment in water resources matters, water investment data, key water challenges, and status and trends for various issues, including: water for food; ecosystem health; water supply, sanitation and public health; water intensity in industry; water-related disasters; water and energy; tracking governance; and data crisis.

This initial release aims to develop the methodology, templates and framework that can be applied and adapted for use in a large number of countries. The object of the briefs is to frame water challenges and investment in such a way as to raise awareness and focus political attention on the issues, and encourage donor and country investment in water. [UN-Water Water Country Briefs]