Global water crisis fuelling more conflicts, UN report warns

Water resources under stress as economies and populations grow with 2.2 billion people lacking clean drinking water.

Increasing global water scarcity is fuelling more conflicts and contributing to instability, the United Nations warns in a new report, which says access to clean water is critical to promoting peace.

The UN World Water Development Report 2024, released on Friday, said 2.2 billion people worldwide have no access to clean drinking water and 3.5 billion people lack access to safely managed sanitation.

Girls and women are the first victims of a lack of water, said the report, published by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), especially in rural areas where they have the primary responsibility of collecting supplies.

Spending several hours a day on fetching water, coupled with a lack of safe sanitation, is a contributing factor to girls dropping out of school.

“Water shortages not only fan the flames of geopolitical tensions but also pose a threat to fundamental rights as a whole, for example, by considerably undermining the position of girls and women,” UNESCO chief Audrey Azoulay said.

While the report did not examine specific current conflicts, Israel has severely restricted access to fresh, clean water during its war on Gaza.

UN agencies have long warned that not only are children and women at grave risk of thirst and starvation, but the lack of clean water also has disrupted medical treatment and hygiene. 

The lack of water security drives migration, and displaced people strain resources in locations where they settle. The report cited a study in Somalia that indicated a 200 percent increase in gender-based violence against a group of displaced people.

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