On November 29, 2019, Leila will speak at the British Columbia Nurses Union Human Rights and Equity Conference about the equity and governance considerations related to the human right to water. This year’s conference is focused on addressing climate change through the lens of nursing, advocacy and leadership.

Details: Challenges related to the human right to water and sanitation exist in industrialized and non-industrialized contexts alike. Of course, lack of access to safe, affordable and consistent water (or appropriate sanitation) has considerable public health implications, both for individuals and at the community level. As well, recent research has pointed to the other ways that water (and sanitation) insecurity affects individual and community well-being, including mental health, stress, community dynamics, and sense of belonging. This session will explore some touchpoints from recent research on these themes, and will also address some of the key equity dimensions of these challenges (from gender, impoverishments, or other perspectives important for Indigenous communities, for instance). We will look at uneven outcomes for communities as well as barriers to effective and meaningful engagement in governance processes. The audience will be encouraged to ask questions, and probe further in terms of how (lack of) achievement of the human right to water (and sanitation) affects broader aspects of public health and individual/community well being, and how some of these equity considerations can be more adequately addressed in our work.