WCC News: WCC launches Seven Weeks for Water 2026, highlighting women's water justice

Water holds profound spiritual significance in Christian tradition as a gift from God. Yet 2.2 billion people worldwide - disproportionately women and girls - lack safe drinking water. A woman collects water from a community hand pump in a rural village in Bangladesh. Photo: Marcelo Schneider/WCC 12 February 2026 Since 2008, the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Water Network has, during Lent, invited global reflection on water justice. In 2026, the campaign highlights gender equality in water and sanitation access. The campaign launches on Ash Wednesday, 18 February, with a prayer service and continues through 1 April, aligning with World Water Day 2026.  "Water justice is inseparable from gender justice. When we see women and girls walking hours for water while being excluded from decisions about water management, we witness a profound violation of dignity that the church cannot ignore,” explains Dinesh Suna, WCC programme executive for Land, Water, and Food and coordinator of the WCC Ecumenical Water Network. “The Seven Weeks for Water invites us to reflect, pray, and act - to ensure that access to clean water becomes a lived reality for all God's children, especially those who have been marginalized for too long." Seven weekly themes guide the journey: climate resilient communities in the context of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH); power and gender dynamics in water-scarce regions; safe water as shared wellbeing; rural women's realities; sanitation for dignity in WASH systems; water control in conflict zones; and the agriculture-WASH connection. Athena Peralta, director of the WCC Commission on Climate Justice and Sustainable Development, emphasized: "Water justice and climate justice are deeply interconnected. As we enter the Ecumenical Decade of Climate Justice Action, the Seven Weeks for Water reminds us that climate change amplifies existing inequalities - and women are among the people who bear the heaviest burden. This campaign integrates with our Global Systemic Carbon Fast, showing how our Lenten disciplines can address both immediate water needs and the long-term climate crisis." Reflections in multiple languages will be available on the WCC Ecumenical Water Network page. Churches and individuals can register now to receive weekly materials starting 18 February. Find the Seven Weeks for Water resources here Ecumenical Decade of Climate Justice Action Event page here See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 356 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland