One in four people still live without safe access to drinking water, warns the UN.

247 - More than 2 billion people worldwide remain without access to safe drinking water, revealed a report released this Tuesday (26) by the UN (United Nations). The survey, reported by FSPThis highlights that progress towards universal access is still slow and insufficient.

According to the WHO (World Health Organization) and UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund), one in four people on the planet still lack access to safely managed drinking water. The study also indicates that more than 100 million people still depend on surface sources, such as rivers, lakes, and canals, for their daily consumption.

Growing risks to global health

The report highlights that the slow pace of meeting the goals of the WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) program exposes billions of people to the risk of infectious diseases. The agencies warn that the goal of achieving universal coverage by 2030 is becoming increasingly distant.

“Water, sanitation and hygiene are not privileges. They are fundamental human rights,” stated Rüdiger Krech, Director of Environment and Climate Change at the WHO. He emphasized the need to accelerate action, “particularly for the most marginalized communities.”

Classification of water services

The study analyzed five levels of access to drinking water. The highest level, called "safe management," is characterized by the availability of clean water on-site, free from chemical or fecal contamination. The other levels range from "basic" (source within 30 minutes' distance) to "surface," when the population depends directly on rivers or lakes.

Despite some progress since 2015 — when 961 million people gained access to safer systems — the number of people without coverage still reaches 2,1 billion. Among them, 106 million continue to rely on surface water, although this number has decreased compared to a decade ago.

Africa is a center of inequality.

Data shows that only 89 countries have basic access to safe drinking water, and only 31 have achieved universal access. The most critical situation is concentrated in Africa, where 28 countries still face alarming rates: in many of them, one in four people does not even have access to basic services.

In the field of sanitation, there has been progress: since 2015, 1,2 billion people have gained access to safe services, raising global coverage from 48% to 58%. The number of people who still need to defecate in the open has also decreased—from 429 million to 354 million.

Regarding hygiene, 1,6 billion more people gained access to places to wash their hands with soap and water, expanding coverage to 80% of the global population.

Impacts on childhood

Inequality in access hits children hardest. “When children lack access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene, their health, education and future are at risk,” highlighted Cecilia Scharp, director of the WASH program at UNICEF.

She added that gender inequalities further exacerbate the situation: "Girls are the most impacted, as they often take on the responsibility of fetching water and face additional challenges during menstruation."

According to Scharp, without significant changes, "at the current pace, the promise of access to clean water and sanitation for every child is becoming increasingly distant."