Clean water for all

Clayton, Gillian; Steven, Joshua; Thorn, Robin; Reynolds, Darren

Abstract

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimated that, as of 2020, 2 billion people across the globe did not have access to safely managed drinking water.

Ideally, safely managed drinking water should be available onsite, from an improved water source and ‘not represent any significant risk to health over a lifetime of consumption, including different sensitivities that may occur between life stages’ (WHO and UNICEF, 2021). Strictly, this requires no detectable potential pathogens such as Escherichia coli or coliforms in drinking water. Globally we estimate that 43% of people live in rural areas and only 60% of these rural populations have access to safely managed drinking water services. For rural communities, or communities in low-middle income countries where the GDP per capita is less than US$ 2581, unrestricted access to safely managed drinking water is challenging due to costs associated with centralised drinking water treatment systems and necessary distribution networks. If the UN Sustainable Development Goal 6 ‘Clean Water and Sanitation for All’ is to be fully realised by 2030, more innovative and transformative decentralised solutions that are applicable to resource-limited settings are urgently required.

• Digital Artefact Type: Website Content
• Online Publication Date: Nov 28, 2022
• Publication Date: Nov 28, 2022
• Deposit Date: Nov 28, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: May 29, 2023
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/10194764
• External URL: https://www.the-microbiologist.com/features/clean-water-for-all/388.article