Report: 2.1 bn people worldwide lack safe drinking water

2.1 billion, which is 3 in 10, people around the world do not have access to “safe, readily available water at home” according to a new report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef). The report, that was released on Friday, also said “6 in 10, or 4.4 billion [people] lack safely managed sanitation” worldwide. WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that safe water, sanitation and hygiene at home “should not be a privilege of only those who are rich or live in urban centres” and these “basic requirements for human health” should be provided to everyone worldwide. Since 2000, billions of people have obtained access to basic drinking water and sanitation services, but these services “do not necessarily provide safe water and sanitation”. Many institutions and homes do not have “soaps and water for handwashing”. Due to this reason, many people especially children, are exposed to harmful diseases like diarrhoea. Around 361,000 children under five years die due to diarrhoea every year. Poor sanitation and contaminated water may also cause cholera, dysentery, hepatitis A, and typhoid. UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake said: “Safe water, effective sanitation and hygiene are critical to the health of every child and every community – and thus are essential to building stronger, healthier, and more equitable societies. As we improve these services in the most disadvantaged communities and for the most disadvantaged children today, we give them a fairer chance at a better tomorrow.” A close up shot shows the hand of a Yemeni youth filling a jerrycan with safe drinking water from a donated water-tank in the capital Sanaa on July 2, 2017. The collapse of Yemen's infrastructure after more than two years of war between the Saudi-backed government and Shiite rebels who control the capital has made for a "perfect storm for cholera," the WHO's senior emergency adviser for Yemen, Ahmed Zouiten, said Photo: AFPThe new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call for “ending open defecation and achieving universal access to basic services” by 2030 worldwide. 844 million, out of the 2.1 billion people who do not have safely managed water, do not have even a basic drinking water service. There are 159 million people who drink untreated water from surface water sources, such as streams or lakes and 263 million who have to spend over 30 minutes per trip to collect water from sources outside their homes. A Sri Lankan woman carries bottles of water through floodwaters in Dodangoda village in Kalutara on May 28, 2017.
Emergency teams rushed to distribute aid on May 28 to half a million Sri Lankans displaced after the island's worst flooding in more than a decade claimed 126 lives and left scores more missing Photo: AFP

Based on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) indicator for water, the report showed that “97% people in Bangladesh have access to basic water supply” – however, the SDG benchmark indicators are “much more stringent” comparatively.Based on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) indicator for water, the report showed that “97% people in Bangladesh have access to basic water supply” – however, the SDG benchmark indicators are “much more stringent” comparatively. According to the report, 71 million Bangladeshis, meaning 56% of the population, do not have access to safely managed water. This includes “arsenic and bacteriological contamination”, which was not assesed under the MDGs. The report said that the progress towards basic sanitation is too slow in 90 countries. This means they “will not reach universal coverage by 2030”. It also stated that only 32% people, in Bangladesh's rural areas, have “safely managed sanitation” making it difficult to achieve the SDG target of 100% by 2030. 40% of Bangladesh's population have access to “water and soap for handwashing”, according to the findings. Over the last 17 years, Bangladesh has made considerable gains in accomplishing water and sanitation goals however it needs to achieve much more by 2030 to attain the SDGs.