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·In lower-income countries, poor ambient
water quality is mainly due to low levels of
wastewater treatment, whereas in higher-income
countries, runof from agriculture poses the most
serious problem.
·None of the Sustainable Development Goal
(SDG) 6 targets appear to be on track. As of 2022,
2.2 billion people were without access to safely
managed drinking water. Four out of fve people
lacking at least basic drinking water services lived
in rural areas. Te situation with respect to safely
managed sanitation remains dire, with 3.5 billion
people lacking access to such services. Cities
and municipalities have been unable to keep
up with the accelerating growth of their urban
populations.
·Deficiencies in monitoring and reporting
have made it extremely challenging to generate
a thorough analysis of most other SDG 6 target
indicators.
Human settlements (WASH, disaster risk
reduction and migration)
In a separate chapter the report deals with
water issues in human settlements.
The report states that authorities have not
given sufficient priority to equity and nondiscrimination in access to WASH services,
particularly between formal and informal
settlements, rural and urban areas, highest and
lowest wealth quintiles, and among marginalized
groups. The collaborative management of
WASH services and water resources can
become a peacebuilding asset, provided it is
equipped and supported to perform that role.
Numerous challenges undermine the provision
of WASH services in conflict situations, due
to the breakdown of essential infrastructure,
displacement of populations, insecurity, and
limited access to resources. Disaster risk reduction
policies and programmes can address the root
causes of vulnerability and build resilience. Water
deficits can be linked to 10% of the increase in
migration worldwide.
Displacement can increase the burden on
local water systems and resources, resulting in
tensions between migrant and host communities.
Cooperation and joint management of these
systems promote peaceful co-existence in and
around settlement locations.
Regional perspectives
In the chapter “Regional perspectives,”
the report highlights, among others SubSaharan Africa, where population growth, rapid
urbanization, economic development, and
changing lifestyles and consumption patterns
are increasing water demand. Most of the region
suffers from economic water scarcity, where
water infrastructure is often inappropriate (or
nonexistent) and water resources management
inadequate due to a lack of financing. Water
quality appears to be widely deteriorating. Africa
has the highest proportion of transboundary
basins relative to other continents, covering an
estimated 64% of the land area. Transboundary
cooperation – such as for water quality, water
