New york: A quarter of the world's population, or 2.1 billion people, still lack access to safe drinking water, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned in a new report released during World Water Week 2025. The joint study, "Progress on Household Drinking Water and Sanitation 2000-2024: Special Focus on Inequalities," highlights the ongoing challenges in providing essential services to billions of people, with the poorest and most vulnerable communities disproportionately affected.

According to Anadolu Agency, the report reveals that 3.4 billion people still lack safely managed sanitation, including 354 million who practice open defecation. Additionally, 1.7 billion people are without basic hygiene services at home, with 611 million lacking any facilities at all. The findings expose stark disparities, indicating that people in least developed countries are more than twice as likely as others to be without safe drinking water and sanitation, and more than three times as likely to lack hygiene services.

In fragile contexts, the coverage of safe drinking water is 38 percentage points lower than in other countries. While rural areas have seen modest progress in safely managed drinking water coverage, increasing from 50% in 2015 to 60% in 2024, and basic hygiene from 52% to 71%, urban areas have shown little improvement.

The burden falls heavily on women and girls, who are primarily responsible for water collection in many countries. In sub-Saharan Africa and Central and Southern Asia, many spend over half an hour each day fetching water. Data also indicates that adolescent girls are less likely than adult women to attend school, work, or social activities during menstruation due to inadequate facilities.

"Water, sanitation, and hygiene are not privileges; they are basic human rights," said WHO's environment chief, Ruediger Krech. He emphasized the urgent need to accelerate action, especially for the most marginalized communities, to meet the Sustainable Development Goals.

Cecilia Scharp, UNICEF's director of WASH, highlighted the impact on children, stressing that lack of access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene threatens their health, education, and futures. She pointed out that these inequalities are particularly stark for girls, who often bear the burden of water collection and face additional barriers during menstruation. Scharp warned that at the current pace, the promise of safe water and sanitation for every child is slipping further from reach, urging for faster and bolder action to reach those in need.