Water is an essential building block of life. It is more than just essential to quench thirst or protect health; water is vital for creating jobs and supporting economic, social, and human development. Today, billions of people are still living without safe water, which means ‘safely managed drinking water service’: water that is accessible on the premises, available when needed, and free from contamination. Their households, schools, workplaces, farms and factories struggling to survive and thrive. Facts and figures about water are following below.

• 2.1 billion people live without safe water at home.
• One in four primary schools have no drinking water service, with pupils using unprotected sources or going thirsty.
• More than 700 children under five years of age die every day from diarrhoea linked to unsafe water and poor sanitation.
• Globally, 80% of the people who have to use unsafe and unprotected water sources live in rural areas.
• Women and girls are responsible for water collection in eight out of ten households with water off-premises.
• For the 68.5 million people who have been forced to flee their homes, accessing safe water services is highly problematic.
• Around 159 million people collect their drinking water from surface water, such as ponds and streams.
• Around 4 billion people – nearly two-thirds of the world’s population – experience severe water scarcity during at least one month of the year.
• Over 800 women die every day from complications in pregnancy and childbirth.
• 700 million people worldwide could be displaced by intense water scarcity by 2030.