WaterAid says it’s ‘shameful’ that UN’s target on water and sanitation will be missed as World Water Week gets underway

Responding to the latest world figures from WHO/UN on water, sanitation and hygiene ahead of World Water Week, WaterAid’s Executive Director, Global Policy and Campaigns, Sol Oyuela said:

“It’s sadly no surprise and utterly shameful that the UN’s goal to ensure clean water, toilets and hygiene for all by 2030 is set to be missed. A continued lack of urgency from decision makers, compounded by recent aid cuts, is pushing progress in the wrong direction.

“That must change — and fast, because water is the difference between life and death for millions. Everything from health to security and growth, starts with water. Without it, all progress crumbles.

“At World Water Week, we will hear once again the warnings, as climate change worsens an already critical situation, especially amongst women and girls, who bear the brunt of inadequate water and sanitation.

“But talk alone won’t save lives. What’s urgently needed is bold political will, backed by serious investment. Governments must step up to prevent lives being cut short and blighted by lack of global action on water.”

Sol Oyuela was responding to a new report:?Progress on Household Drinking Water and Sanitation 2000–2024: special focus on inequalities?–?launched by WHO and UNICEF during World Water Week 2025. It reveals that, while some progress has been made, major gaps persist. People living in low-income countries, fragile contexts, rural communities, children, and minority ethnic and indigenous groups face the greatest disparities.

Ten key facts from the report:

Despite gains since 2015, 1 in 4 – or 2.1 billion people globally – still lack access to safely managed drinking water*, including 106 million who drink directly from untreated surface sources.
3.4 billion people still lack safely managed sanitation, including 354 million who practice open defecation.
1.7 billion people still lack basic hygiene services at home, including 611 million without access to any facilities.
People in least developed countries are over twice as likely than people in other countries to lack basic drinking water and sanitation services, and more than three times as likely to lack basic hygiene.
In fragile contexts**, safely managed drinking water coverage is 38 percentage points lower than in other countries, highlighting stark inequalities.
While there have been improvements for people living in rural areas, they still lag behind. Safely managed drinking water coverage rose from 50 per cent to 60 per cent between 2015 and 2024, and basic hygiene coverage from 52 per cent to 71 per cent. In contrast, drinking water and hygiene coverage in urban areas has stagnated.
Data from 70 countries show that while most women and adolescent girls have menstrual materials and a private place to change, many lack sufficient materials to change as often as needed.
Adolescent girls age 15–19 are less likely than adult women to participate in activities during menstruation, such as school, work and social pastimes.
In most countries with available data, women and girls are primarily responsible for water collection, with many in sub-Saharan Africa and Central and Southern Asia spending more than 30 minutes per day collecting water.
As we approach the last five years of the Sustainable Development Goals period, achieving the 2030 targets for ending open defecation and universal access to basic water, sanitation and hygiene services will require acceleration, while universal coverage of safely managed services appears increasingly out of reach.

World Water Week

World Water Week is an annual event held in Stockholm, Sweden, organised by Stockholm International Water Institute. The conference brings together a diverse mix of participants from many professional backgrounds and from all over the world. The aim of the conference is to exchange knowledge and develop solutions to the world’s most pressing water-related challenges. The theme this year is “Water for Climate Action”, focussing on the linked emergencies of climate change, environment degradation and biodiversity. WaterAid is leading several of the sessions during WWW. The event is being held from 24th to 28th at Stockholm Waterfront Congress Centre.

For more information see here: WaterAid at World Water Week 2025 | WaterAid Sverige

WaterAid

WaterAid is an international non-profit with one goal: to change the world through water. Along with decent toilets and good hygiene, a reliable supply of clean water is essential for health, dignity and a life full of opportunity. We work alongside communities in 22 countries, setting up entire systems that deliver clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene for millions of people.

To find out more visit www.wateraid.org.au follow @wateraidaustralia on Instagram, or find WaterAid Australia on Facebook at www.facebook.com/wateraidaustralia

703 million people in the world – almost one in ten – don’t have clean water close to home.1
2.2 billion people in the world – more than one in four – don’t have safe water.1
Almost 2 billion people in the world – one in four – lack soap and/or water to wash their hands at home, if they have a place at all.1
1.5 billion people in the world – almost one in five – don’t have a decent toilet of their own.1
Almost 400,000 children under five die every year due to diseases caused by unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene. That’s more than 1,000 children a day. 2
Investing in safely managed water, sanitation and hygiene services provides up to 21 times more value than it costs.3
Worldwide, women and girls spend 200 million hours every day collecting water. 4

[1] WHO/UNICEF (2023). Progress on household drinking water, sanitation and hygiene 2000-2022: special focus on gender. Available at: washdata.org/reports/jmp-2023-wash-households-launch (accessed 11 Jul 2023).

[2] WHO (2023). Burden of disease attributable to unsafe drinking-water, sanitation and hygiene: 2019 update.?Available at: who.int/publications/i/item/9789240075610 (accessed 24 Jul 2023).

[3] WaterAid (2021). Mission-critical: Invest in water, sanitation and hygiene for a healthy and green economic recovery. Available at: washmatters.wateraid.org/publications/mission-critical-invest-water-sanitation-hygiene-healthy-green-recovery (accessed 1 Nov 2023).

[4] UNICEF (2016). Collecting water is often a colossal waste of time for women and girls. Available at: unicef.org/press-releases/unicef-collecting-water-often-colossal-waste-time-women-and-girls (accessed 09 Jan 2024).

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