One in four people worldwide still lacks access to safe drinking water

The document, published on the website of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), also drew attention to the persistent inequalities that prevent vulnerable communities from tackling the problem.

Despite progress in recent decades, billions of people globally still lack full access to basic water, sanitation and hygiene services, increasing their risk of disease and social exclusion, the report, titled Progress in Household Water Supply and Sanitation 2000-2024: Focus on Inequalities, found.

The analysis found that the greatest inequalities are experienced by people living in low-income countries, in precarious circumstances, in rural communities, children, and ethnic minorities and indigenous groups.

The report’s key findings include that despite progress made over the past decade, 2.1 billion people worldwide, or one in four, still lack access to clean drinking water, including 106 million who drink from untreated surface sources.

It also highlighted that 3.4 billion people live without safe sanitation, including 354 million who defecate in the open.

The report said that 1.7 billion people lack basic sanitation services in their homes, including 611 million who have no access to any services.

The authors found that residents of the least developed countries are more than twice as likely to lack access to basic drinking water and sanitation services than those in other countries, and more than three times as likely to lack basic sanitation services in their homes.