via Ira Nathalie R. Tayapad & Veejay Monderondo, Pressroom PH
The United Nations (UN) on Tuesday, August 26, said that more than two billion people worldwide still lack access to safe drinkable water, which raises an alarm that progress towards universal coverage is moving nowhere.
The UN Health and Children Agencies stated that a full one in four people globally lacked access to safe water last year, with over 100 million people relying solely on surface waters such as canals, rivers, and ponds.
“Despite progress over the last decade, billions of people around the world still lack access to essential water, sanitation, and hygiene services, putting them at risk of disease and deeper social exclusion,” the UN reported.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the lagging water, sanitation, and hygiene services (WASH) left millions of people at a greater risk of getting disease.
It was stated in a joint study that the world is still far from reaching the target of achieving universal coverage by the year 2030, as the goal is termed as “increasingly out of reach.”
"Water, sanitation, and hygiene are not privileges: they are basic human rights," WHO's environment chief Ruediger Krech stated.
Krech additionally stressed that actions must be accelerated, especially to the most marginalized communities.
In the report, five levels were looked at. Drinking water is accessible on the premises and available when needed, where it is free from fecal and chemical contamination, with the mark being the highest.
The four other parts of the level included the basic, limited, unimproved, and surface water.
According to the study, the number of countries that eliminated the use of surface water increased from 142 to 154 (2015-2024), whereas 89 countries from this year gained universal access to the level of basic drinking water, and from that, 31 gained access to safely managed services.
A total of 961 million people have access to safe drinkable water, rising from 68 to 74 percent since 2015.
In terms of safely managed sanitation, 1.2 billion people have already gained access to it since 2015, also rising from 48 percent to 58 percent, according to the study.
During 2024, the number of people who practice open defecation declined from 429 million to 254 million, or 4 percent of the global population.
The study also found that 1.6 billion people have gained access to basic hygiene services, with coverage increasing from 66 percent to 80 percent.
The UN also found that 1.7 billion people lack basic hygiene services at home, including 611 million people without access to such facilities.
"When children lack access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene, their health, education, and futures are put at risk," UNICEF's director for WASH, Cecilia Scharp, stressed.
She added that at this current pacing, the promise of safe water and sanitation for every child is still difficult to attain.
Despite gains since 2015, 2.1 billion people globally still have no access to drinking water, including 106 million people who drink directly from untreated sources.
Women more affected by inaccessible drinking water
The UN also found that women are at risk from lack of water, sanitation, and hygiene.
According to the data, many lack sufficient materials to change, as most women and adolescent girls have menstrual materials and a private place to change.
The data also showed that women and girls are primarily responsible for water collection, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa and Central and South Asia.
“These inequalities are especially stark for girls, who often bear the burden of water collection and face additional barriers during menstruation,” UNICEF Director Cecilia Scharp remarked.
