More than two billion people have had access to safe drinking water over the past twenty years, but despite these advances, there are large geographical disparities and another two billion people are still not using safely managed drinking water.
Vatican news
Between 2000 and 2020, the world population with access to safely managed drinking water services increased by more than 2 billion to 5.8 billion.
“Despite these advances, there are huge geographical disparities and two billion people are still not using safely managed drinking water”
The new report The State of the World’s Drinking Water, presented October 24 by WHO, UNICEF and the World Bank, indicates that more than two billion people have access to potable water received the last twenty years. This progress, while positive, is fragile and uneven, as a quarter of the world’s population has been left behind.
climate change
Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of droughts and floods, exacerbating water insecurity, disrupting supplies and wreaking havoc on communities. Meanwhile, rapid urbanization is increasing pressure on cities’ ability to provide water to the millions of people living in informal communities and slums.
“Governments must invest in drinking water systems”
According to the new report, if the world is to achieve universal access to clean water and mitigate the effects of climate change, governments must invest strategically in building clean water systems, not only increasing funding but also strengthening planning capacities. Coordination and regulation of utility services.
Some data from the report:
– National, regional and global averages often mask significant disparities in service levels between and within countries. While three out of four people in the world were using safely managed drinking water services in 2020, regional coverage ranged from 96% in Europe and North America to just 30% in sub-Saharan Africa.
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– Contaminated drinking water is a major cause of the more than 1.5 million people who die from diarrhea each year, most of them infants and young children. Diarrhea can range from mild, self-limiting illnesses to serious illnesses such as typhoid and cholera, which are endemic in sixty-nine countries and are estimated to cause nearly three million cases a year that, if left untreated, are fatal within hours.
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– It is estimated that between 94 and 220 million people are at risk of exposure to high concentrations of arsenic in groundwater, the majority (94%) in Asia.
– It is also estimated that almost three hundred and fifty million cubic meters of water are lost every day worldwide due to distribution networks. This situation leads to significant avoidable emissions from additional treatment and pumping of wastewater.
“Millions of children attend schools without drinking water”
– Millions of children attend schools that lack clean water. In 2021, 546 million children were without basic drinking water supply at their school, of which 288 million were without drinking water supply.
Increased access to clean water has saved many lives, most of them children. But climate change is undermining these achievements,” said Maria Neira, director of the WHO Division for Environment, Climate Change and Health. She added:
“We must accelerate our efforts to ensure everyone has adequate access to safe drinking water, which is a human right, not a luxury.”
goal of sustainable development
The report provides a comprehensive analysis of the links between water, health and development, with practical recommendations for governments and partners, illustrated with examples of how countries are contributing to the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of achieving water-managed drinking water for all by 2030 .
General recommendations include:
– Strengthen existing institutions Bridging gaps, facilitating coordination, creating a regulatory environment supported by legislation and service quality standards, and ensuring compliance.
– drastically increase funding from all sources, with water service providers improving efficiency and performance, and governments creating a stable and transparent administrative, regulatory and policy framework.
– Increase the capacity of the water sector through a capable and motivated workforce through a range of skills development approaches based on innovation and collaboration.
– Ensuring the availability of data and information to better understand water supply inequalities and make data-driven decisions.
– Encourage innovation and experimentation through supporting government policies and regulations, accompanied by rigorous monitoring and evaluation.