Thirst for Change: The Global Struggle to Quench a Basic Human Need
Imagine waking up each morning knowing you might spend hours trekking to the nearest water source—often a river or pond—and even then, what you collect might not be safe to drink. For over two billion people worldwide, this is not just a thought experiment; it’s their daily reality. Despite decades of global focus and billions in investments, safe, reliable drinking water remains a distant dream for a staggering fraction of humanity.
This sobering truth was laid bare in a recent joint report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF, two of the world’s leading advocates for public health and children’s welfare. Their analysis pulls back the curtain to reveal a crisis that is far from over, and progress toward universal access to safely-managed water is alarmingly slow. The UN warns bluntly: unless we pick up the pace, the global goal set for 2030—to provide every human being with safe drinking water—will slip further from our grasp.
Why Does This Matter?
Water is more than a commodity; it is life itself. The WHO’s environment chief, Ruediger Krech, puts it plainly: “Water, sanitation and hygiene are not privileges: they are basic human rights.” Safe water fuels our bodies, nurtures economies, and underpins communities’ health and dignity. Yet, billions remain vulnerable to waterborne diseases that could otherwise be prevented.
Globally, one in four people lack access to safely-managed drinking water. This means their water may be hours away, or worse, contaminated with faecal matter or dangerous chemicals. More than 100 million people still rely on surface water sources such as rivers, ponds, or canals—waters that are often murky, polluted, and fraught with health risks.
Unearthing the Layers of Water Access
Understanding the problem means unpacking what “access” to water really means. The UN’s report defines five levels of drinking water services, ranging from the pinnacle—safely managed—to the most precarious—surface water.
- Safely managed: Water accessible on premises, available when needed, and free from faecal and chemical contamination.
- Basic: Improved water sources (like protected wells) available within a 30-minute round trip.
- Limited: Improved sources, but taking longer than 30 minutes to collect water.
- Unimproved: Unprotected wells or springs.
- Surface water: Directly collecting from rivers, lakes, or ponds.
Since 2015, some progress has been made. Approximately 961 million people have gained access to safely-managed drinking water, raising global coverage from 68% to 74%. The number of people drinking directly from surface water has declined by 61 million in the last decade. The count of countries free from dependence on surface water has risen from 142 to 154 between 2015 and 2024.
Yet, these figures only tell part of the story. Water access is not evenly distributed. A striking 28 countries—mostly across Africa—still have more than one in four people lacking even basic water services. For many communities, access remains intermittent, unreliable, or far from home.
The Sanitation and Hygiene Gaps That Complicate the Crisis
Water is just one half of the equation. Equally vital are sanitation and hygiene—elements that dramatically reduce disease and improve quality of life. The report highlights encouraging strides here but also underlines daunting challenges.
Since 2015, 1.2 billion people have gained access to safely managed sanitation—facilities not shared with other households and where waste is properly treated. Coverage has climbed from 48% to 58%. The practice of open defecation, a public health scourge, has declined by 429 million people, now affecting 354 million—still about 4% of the world’s population.
Hygiene is another critical front. Basic handwashing facilities with soap and water have become accessible to 1.6 billion more people since 2015, pushing coverage from 66% to 80%. Such measures, though simple, save lives by curbing infectious diseases.
Voices from the Frontlines
Cecilia Scharp, UNICEF’s director for water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), offers a stark reminder: “When children lack access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene, their health, education, and futures are put at risk.” She emphasizes the disproportionate burdens carried by girls, who often spend hours fetching water—time that could be spent in school or with family—and face additional challenges managing menstruation without adequate facilities.
In rural Nigeria, 12-year-old Amina knows this struggle intimately. “I wake up before sunrise to carry water from the well,” she says, balancing the brimming jerrycan on her head. “Sometimes my hands hurt, and the water isn’t clean, but my mother says it’s the best we have.”
The Bigger Picture: Why Progress Stalls
Why, in a world of soaring technological advances, do billions still endure such hardships? The answer is both complex and heartbreaking. Water infrastructure requires massive investment, political will, and sound governance—elements often scarcer in the hardest-hit countries. Conflicts, climate change, urbanization, and population growth all strain existing resources.
Moreover, marginalized groups—be they rural poor, indigenous communities, or urban slum dwellers—often fall off the grid entirely. “We must accelerate action, especially for the most marginalised communities,” Krech says, underscoring the ethics at the heart of the crisis.
Climate Change: Turning Up the Heat on Water Scarcity
Climate change is magnifying these challenges. Erratic rainfall, prolonged droughts, and floods disrupt water supplies and damage infrastructure. In East Africa, unprecedented droughts have fueled hunger and forced millions to migrate, while in South Asia, floods periodically contaminate water sources. These extreme weather events are no longer rare but repeating nightmares, widening the gap between water haves and have-nots.
So, What Can We Do?
Readers, take a moment and reflect: how different would your life be without safe, reliable water at your fingertips? More than that, what can we, as a global community, do to rewrite this story?
Some solutions are clear:
- Invest heavily: Infrastructure for wells, pipes, filters, and sanitation must be financed and maintained.
- Empower communities: Local leadership and knowledge can harness efforts that fit cultural and environmental contexts.
- Focus on equity: No one should be left behind because of geography, income, or social status.
- Integrate climate resilience: Projects must anticipate extreme events and changing weather patterns.
- Support education: Hygiene education, especially for children and girls, transforms communities.
In places like Rwanda, this blueprint is already making waves. The government’s nationwide push for clean water, combined with community-led sanitation campaigns, has lifted millions out of the water crisis over the last decade, underscoring what targeted, inclusive action can achieve.
Conclusion: A Call to Action and Compassion
The path to universal access to safely managed drinking water and sanitation by 2030 is daunting but not impossible. It demands empathy, innovation, and above all, a collective recognition that water is a profound connector of humanity. It touches health, education, gender equality, poverty, and climate justice.
For billions who wait, hope is tied to decisions made today. The challenge stretches beyond statistics and reports; it is a call to honor human dignity and to embrace water not just as a resource, but as a right.
So, what’s your role in this global narrative? Whether through advocacy, education, or supporting initiatives on the ground, each of us carries a drop of potential to transform this tide.
