Clean water and sanitation
3 out of 10 people lack access to safe drinking water services and 6 out of 10 lack access to safely managed sanitation facilities.
Access to water, sanitation and hygiene is a human right, yet billions of people still face enormous difficulties every day in accessing the most basic services. Approximately 1.8 billion people worldwide use a source of drinking water that is contaminated. that is contaminated by fecal waste. Some 2.4 billion people lack access to basic sanitation services, such as toilets and latrines. Water scarcity affects more than 40% of the world's population and this percentage could increase. More than 80% of the wastewater resulting from human activity is discharged into rivers or the sea without any treatment, causing pollution.
Water- and sanitation-related diseases continue to be among the leading causes of death in children under 5 years of age; more than 800 children die every day from diarrheal diseases associated with poor hygiene.
The provision of adequate water and sanitation services is essential to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, including those related to health and gender equality. including those related to health and gender equality.
By sustainably managing our water resources, we can also better manage our food and energy production and contribute to decent work and economic growth. In addition, we can preserve our water ecosystems and their biodiversity, and take action to combat
climate change.
A study conducted by the World Bank Group, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that extending
basic water and sanitation services to underserved populations would cost to underserved populations would cost
US$28.4 billion per year between 2015 and 2030, or 0.10% of the total production of the 140 countries included in the study.