2.1 Billion People Still Live Without Safely Managed Drinking Water
In 2024, 2.1 billion people lacked safely managed drinking water services, according to the WHO-UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme.
Turning on a tap and drinking without a second thought is routine for part of the world, but an inaccessible luxury for the rest.
A silent crisis with cascading effects
The lack of safe drinking water is not only about thirst. It fuels waterborne diseases such as cholera and dysentery, which remain a leading cause of preventable child deaths in several regions.
It also affects education: in many rural areas, children, most often girls, walk several kilometres each day to collect water instead of attending school.
The economic impact is equally real. Time lost collecting water and days lost to illness hold back the long-term development of affected communities.
Local solutions with a proven record
The good news is that effective solutions exist and are well documented: boreholes and wells equipped with hand pumps, community filtration systems, rainwater harvesting, and training local committees to maintain facilities.
A properly built and maintained well can serve an entire village for decades at a cost of a few thousand euros.
This is precisely the kind of project Ecoreact supports: every advertisement viewed directly funds water-access infrastructure, with transparent monitoring of the amounts raised.
- Safely managed drinking water remains out of reach for one person in four.
- The consequences extend beyond health: education, equality and local economies are directly affected.
- A community well is one of the most cost-effective humanitarian investments.