Water and sanitation

Worldwide, over 1 billion people lack access to an affordable supply of clean water for their basic needs. Over 2 billion people lack access to basic sanitation.

Access to clean water and sanitation is a basic component of what constitutes the right to adequate housing. 

Many communities living in slums and low-income neighbourhoods in urban and rural areas are charged unaffordable prices for drinking water, spend several hours daily collecting water or have no alternative but to use contaminated water from rivers or unprotected wells. Clean sanitation facilities are frequently unavailable, inaccessible or insecure.

Women and children bear the brunt of this neglect.

The laws and policies of many countries provide little protection for marginalised groups and often lack enforcement mechanisms. Water services can be disconnected without notice and without provision of an alternative water supply – despite the threats to life and health. Water prices can be arbitrarily increased even where water costs constitute the bulk of an individual or family budget. There are an insufficient number of monitoring bodies to ensure the equitable implementation of water policies and provide redress for violations.