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Water
Nearly 2.1 billion people in the world still do not have access to safe and controlled drinking water, which represents one in four people¹. In the Sahel, nearly 30.9 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance to access safe water and hygiene and sanitation services. Worldwide, nearly 106 million people are forced to drink directly from untreated surface water². In 2024, 3.4 billion people lacked access to safely managed sanitation services².
As a result, inadequate access to water, sanitation, and hygiene was responsible for 1.4 million preventable deaths from waterborne diseases in 2019³.
As humanitarian workers, we are combatting this scourge at ground level, day in day out, but also fighting national and international bodies to ensure that those we help have their voices heard
UNSANITARY WATER: A SILENT, OVERLOOKED SCOURGE
billion
still lacked access to hygiene services in their homes
children under the age of 5
die every day because of the consumption of unsafe water. This represents a child who dies every two minutes
billion
people do not have access to safely managed domestic drinking water supply services
minutes a day
In Africa and Central Asia, this is the amount of time women and girls spend collecting water
of all natural hazards
are related to water
still lacked access to hygiene services in their homes
die every day because of the consumption of unsafe water. This represents a child who dies every two minutes
people do not have access to safely managed domestic drinking water supply services
In Africa and Central Asia, this is the amount of time women and girls spend collecting water
are related to water
A source of life, development, economy and education, water is unfortunately all too often a cause of poverty, disease and death. In 2019, 395,000 children under the age of five died as a result of diseases linked to unsafe water and the environment⁴.
3,5 billion people still do not have access to safely managed sanitation services. Among them, 354 million still practice open defecation¹.
“Tons of fecal matter are deposited in the natural environment. A single gram contains up to 10,000 viruses, including poliomyelitis and one million bacteria responsible for dysentery, diarrhea and cholera. Dying from these diseases today should be unthinkable.” It is estimated that access to toilets and routine handwashing could save hundreds of thousands of lives deaths every year.
WATER VULNERABILITY INDEX IN 2022
Insufficient access to water, sanitation and hygiene is responsible for 1.6 million deaths every year.
Your generosity is the source of our action!
OUR FIGHT: DRINKING WATER FOR EVERYONE
Of course, progress has been made, but it is very insufficient and we know that the current trajectory will not make it possible to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2030, particularly in the area of access to water, especially in Africa, where the population will double within 30 years.”
Alain Boinet, founder of SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL
Having worked on the ground since 1980 delivering aid to alleviate some of the most severe humanitarian crises (Afghanistan, Rwanda, Indonesia, DRC, Horn of Africa, Sahel, Philippines, Nepal, etc.), SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL has made the fight against water-related diseases its major combat. This decision was motivated by a three-fold observation: the vital issue of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in crisis situations, the dramatic mortality induced by water-borne diseases, and, lastly, the fact that even 20 years ago, few voices were raised about the urgent need to combat this major cause of death.
Recognized for its expertise and knowhow in water, sanitation and hygiene access issues, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL has enabled millions of people worldwide over the last 40 years to enjoy improved access to this vital resource, by implementing humane solutions adapted to suit specific local situations.
A fight led at the highest level
Access to water and sanitation is a major element when it comes to boosting the resilience of populations faced with the effects of crises and natural disasters, as well as the impacts of climate change. That’s why, as well as conducting humanitarian missions in some of the world’s most volatile areas for for almost 20 years, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL has also made it its duty to influence public policies. This is a long-term exercise in conjunction with our French Water Partnership partners, which aims to ensure that the right top-level decisions are made when it comes to combatting the scourge of unsanitary water, in France, Europe and at the United Nations.
Our information and awareness-raising campaigns run every year to mark “World Water Day” on 22 March, including our drinking water petition signed by 200,000 of our fellow citizens, have actively helped to ensure that a water/sanitation objective finally becomes a priority. This became a reality in September 2015 when the United Nations adopted the 17 Sustainable Goals (SDGs), the sixth objective of which aims to provide universal access to water and sanitation by 2030.
Worldwide, 1.7 billion people do not have access to drinking water in their homes.
Your generosity is the source of our action!
2030: Only 4 years left to reach the goal !
Faced with this very ambitious challenge, we remain vigilant and persistent in raising the voice of people with no access to drinking water in national and international collectives, bodies, networks and summits, such as the United Nations Water Conference in New York, the World Water Forum, the French Water Partnership, the UN Climate Change Conference, World Water Week, and regular monitoring of 2015 – 2030 SDGs.
Being aware that the international community’s efforts will not be enough to achieve this goal, SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL persists in its efforts to call on national and international actors, both public and private, to take up their responsibilities.
To this end, the next United Nations Water Conference, co-organised by Senegal and the United Arab Emirates, will be held in December 2026 in the United Arab Emirates, with the aim of supporting the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 6: “Ensure access to water and sanitation for all and their sustainable management”.
SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL will continue its commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals by coordinating two sessions : “Achieving SDG 6 in crisis and fragile contexts” and “Improving emergency responses to water-related disasters”.
The achievement of these ambitious yet essential goals (Agenda 2030) remain seriously threatened by the inadequacy of the efforts provided to those required. This is particularly true in contexts of crisis and fragility, often affecting highly vulnerable populations.
However, if we want to “leave no one behind” and because we think that “it is only by the inclusion of the most vulnerable people that we can hope to achieve the SDGs”, we must concentrate our efforts where our mandate requires us to act, at the heart of humanitarian crises.
There are only 4 years left to achieve universal access to drinking water, despite the fact that it has been considered a human right by the United Nations since July 2010! The world is thirsty, it is no longer time to wait and no one should be abandoned!”
Alain Boinet, founder of SOLIDARITÉS INTERNATIONAL
¹ Unicef – 2025
² The Sustainable Development Goals Report – 2025
³ World Health Organization
⁴ Burden of disease attributable to unsafe drinking-water, sanitation and hygiene: 2019 update