Activity under preparation EU support to essential water and sanitation services 2024 The main objective of the action is to contribute to the development of effective, reliable and self-financed public water and wastewater services in Lebanon. It aims at preserving the provision of essential public water and wastewater services for refugees from Syria and host Lebanese communities.It is crucial to ensure continuity of water services in a country that hosts so many refugees. EU support to maintain at least minimal water services has been the backbone of the whole cholera response in 2022 and avoided further spread of the epidemic in the country.&nbsp;The EU has been providing support to operation of the Lebanese Water Sector since the beginning of the financial crisis. This Action is the continuation of the Action under the 2023 Special Measure for Lebanon, aiming to provide support to the water and wastewater sector until the end of the five-year sector recovery plan (2021-2026) developed by the Ministry of Energy and Water with EU financed Technical Assistance implemented by Agence française de développement (AFD). As part of the five-year sector recovery plan, the current financial gap of the sector is expected to be covered by tariffs or by governmental budget. The Action will continue the work towards raising public awareness around the importance of payment for water and wastewater services. Specific campaigns for raising awareness about the importance of wastewater treatment will be conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment (MoE) and by continuous monitoring and publishing data of effluents quality. The strategy of intervention proposed in this Action has been validated by an evaluation of EU strategy of interventions in the Lebanese Water Sector since the beginning of the Syrian crisis (completed in 2022) and by the first findings of the evaluation of EUTF Madad outcomes that is ongoing.The implementation of the Action will be accompanied by an inclusive and gender sensitive policy dialogue focusing on ensuring Government engagement in supporting any possible financial gap between cost of the service and revenues collected through the tariffs. As part of the design of this Action, all government counterparts have been informed that the funding for supporting the operations of Water Establishments will be ensured until the end of the Recovery Plan (end of 2026), and that any possible future funding beyond this date will not cover operations and maintenance costs. The action will contribute mainly to the SDG indicator #6 (Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all). Other significant SDGs that this action will contribute to are: SDG#3 (Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages); SDG#5 (Achieve gender equality and empowerment for all women and girls); SDG#12(Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns); SDG#13&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impact); SDG#14 (Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development); SDG#15(Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss).