10 June 2013: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan Bin Talal of Jordan as Chair of the UN-Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation (UNSGAB).

The UNSGAB works in support of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target to halve the number of people without access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation through convening and motivating its partners to work in five areas: integrated water resources management (IWRM); sanitation; water and disaster; monitoring and reporting; and financing.

The UNSGAB was established in March 2004 to galvanize action on water and sanitation, and to provide the UNSG with advice on these issues. The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) hosts the UNSGAB Secretariat. Prince Talal replaces the former Chair, His Majesty Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands. [UN Secretary-General Spokesperson Press Release] [UNSGAB Website]