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6h ago

WHO–UNICEF Report Finds One in Four Still Lack Safe Drinking Water, Putting 2030 Goal at Risk

Agencies warn the target is slipping away, urging faster, equity‑focused action.

The report found that in most countries with available data, women and girls were chiefly responsible for water collection
Universal coverage of safely managed water services by 2030 is increasingly out of reach, the WHO and UNICEF said
Since 2015, 961 million people have gained access to safely-managed drinking water

Overview

  • An estimated 2.1 billion people lack safely managed drinking water, including 106 million who still rely on untreated surface sources.
  • Since 2015, 961 million people have gained access, raising global coverage from 68% to 74%, but the pace is insufficient to reach universal access.
  • Sanitation and hygiene deficits remain severe, with 3.4 billion lacking safely managed sanitation, 354 million practicing open defecation, and 1.7 billion without basic hygiene, including 611 million with no facilities.
  • Least developed countries carry the heaviest burden, where people are more than twice as likely to lack basic water and sanitation and over three times as likely to lack basic hygiene.
  • Reliance on surface water fell by 61 million over the past decade and 154 countries have eliminated it for drinking, yet urban coverage has stagnated even as rural access improved.