Securing Water for All in an Unequal World

Nearly 80% of the world’s population is living in a water-insecure country. That's the stark finding from a comprehensive global assessment of water security, and a reality that should spur action towards better use and management of the world’s most critical resource.

The basic concept of water security is for people to have access to enough safe, affordable and reliable water, supported by good governance and systems that can manage water-related risks. The more comprehensive United Nations definition is: “the capacity of a population to safeguard sustainable access to adequate quantities of and acceptable quality water for sustaining livelihoods, human well-being, and socioeconomic development, for ensuring protection against water-borne pollution and water-related disasters, and for preserving ecosystems in a climate of peace and political stability.”

Water security is the unifying ambition that cuts across all targets and indicators under SDG 6 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted in 2015, which aims to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.

There is a clear systems thinking behind this concept: Water security can only be achieved if it is supported by an enabling environment, including integrated policies across sectors, while managing the demand for water by all users and stakeholders. Developing and maintaining a secure and equitable water future underpins prosperity and peace. The relationship also works in the opposite direction, where poverty and inequality, social tensions and conflict can increase water insecurity.

Water insecurity is not the sole cause of today’s development crises, but it is a powerful risk multiplier. Unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) contribute to epidemics and disease. Water scarcity undermines food security and livelihoods. And droughts and floods can intensify competition over natural resources, pressuring people into migration within countries and across borders.

Assessing global water security

How is water security measured and monitored across countries? In 2023, the United Nations University Institute for Water Environment and Health (UNU INWEH) did a preliminary quantitative global assessment of the state of water security for 7.78 billion people. This was based on the UN-Water definition and the SDG 6 indicators, as well as the data countries report (with important caveats). Water security was assessed across 10 components: 1. drinking water; 2. sanitation; 3. good health; 4. water quality; 5. water availability; 6. water value; 7. water governance; 8. human safety; 9. economic safety and 10. water resource stability. For each of the 10 components, a country received a score out of 10, leading to a maximum score of 100. A country was classified as water “secure” with a score of 75 and above, “moderately secure” (65–74), “insecure” (41-64), or “critically insecure” (40 or less).

The assessment found that most of the world’s population lives in water-insecure countries. Out of 7.78 billion people living in 186 countries, over 0.61 billion people (8%) are critically water-insecure and 5.52 billion (72%) are water-insecure.

Taken together, about 6.13 billion people live in either critically water-insecure or water-insecure countries. This includes 4.31 billion people in the Asia-Pacific region, 1.34 billion in Africa, 415 million in the Americas, and 66 million in Europe. The least water-secure regions are Africa (including the Sahel, the Horn of Africa and parts of West Africa), in addition to South Asia and Small Island Developing States across the world, as shown in the UNU-INWEH map below.

This assessment, which reveals coarse national-level estimates, masks water security variability at finer scales, such as the individual or household experience of water insecurity, nor does it show gender, age or social inequalities or rural-urban disparities. Finer-scale data are therefore needed to identify national and subnational water-insecurity hotspots and to target support to the most affected groups.

Globally, the main drivers of water insecurity include rising demand and over-use, pollution, climate-related hydrological extremes, inadequate WASH services and infrastructure, and weak governance unable to address inequality and conflict. But water security cannot be inferred from natural water availability or national income alone: Some countries with abundant water resources remain water-insecure because of poor access, weak governance, low water quality or high disaster risk. At the same time, the UNU-INWEH assessment found that all low-income and lower-middle-income countries were classified as either critically insecure or insecure.

Helvetas’ work in water security for the underserved

Helvetas supports people, especially those traditionally left behind, to become more water and food secure. Our work on water security comprises three components: sustainable WASH services, water for agriculture and integrated water resource management (see figure below). Our focus is on reaching the most vulnerable and promoting their voice and rights, for which accountability, inclusive decision making and managing conflicts around water are key.

Securing water management and providing WASH services are responsibilities of national, subnational and local governments as well as service providers, along with a substantial role played by water users, such as community organizations. Projects therefore address water security across interlinked levels.

Community level: Building evidence for better interventions

At the level of people, households and communities, Helvetas supports duty bearers such as local governments in their role of providing access to drinking water and sanitation services. In these settings, we have begun measuring and monitoring water security, in addition to tracking gains in basic access to WASH services, an indicator we have applied for many years. Starting in 2025, we began reporting on water security, based on the experience of the people reached, through the Household Water Insecurity Experiences (HWISE) Scale.

Five projects in Bangladesh, Madagascar, Mozambique, Nepal and Mali track water insecurity using the HWISE scale and collected their endline data in 2025. The initial results shown by this newer measurement tool are remarkable. At baseline, 110,136 individuals (62%) were estimated to be living in households with moderate-to-high water insecurity. Following project implementation, this burden declined considerably, with only 3,235 individuals (2%) remaining in households with moderate-to-high water insecurity. This represents a 97% reduction, with nearly all individuals at endline living in households with no-to-low water insecurity.

Helvetas also supports water security at the local level in Haiti. We apply a systems strengthening approach for WASH services, generating evidence on how investments in water sources and systems can make the difference in withstanding weather extremes. Haiti is one of the 23 countries assessed by UNU-INWEH as critically water-insecure that Helvetas partners with, along with Ethiopia, Niger, Madagascar and Pakistan. Lessons from Burkina Faso on sanitation, a key aspect of water security, also show that sanitation not only creates safer and healthier environments, but allows vulnerable people to have additional income-generating opportunities.

Service provider level: Strengthening capacities to address risks

Helvetas strongly focuses on enhancing the (technical, administrative and financial) capacities of local governments and authorities to deliver WASH services and to manage and govern water resources in ways that particularly benefit underserved populations. In 2025, 3,093 public, civil society, or private actors were supported to increase their capacities for WASH service delivery, while an additional 3,050 actors strengthened their capacities in integrated water resources management.

At the service provider level, Helvetas in Peru supported the development and validation of the Service Provider Water Security Index (see p. 105). This work is carried out in coordination between the National Superintendence of Sanitation Services (SUNASS) and the Agua para Ciudades Andinas del Perú project, financed by EUROCLIMA through AFD.

The index measures the capacity of a provider to always guarantee a safe water supply, including managing risks associated with an increased demand for water, climate variability and extreme events. These indicators capture risks beyond the service provider’s control; addressing these requires institutional coordination and collaboration at the river basin level on factors related to water quality, available infrastructure and the provider’s management capacity to address future water security challenges.

The index has been validated in cities across Peru’s coastal, Andean and Amazon regions. Based on this work, Helvetas contributed to updating Peru’s regulatory framework for the drinking water and sanitation sector to incorporate water security considerations. In parallel, Helvetas is working with various water utilities to integrate urban water security approaches through the development of methodologies and staff training.

Water security can also be affected by sudden geological events: In Peru, the cities of Lima and Callao face the risk of a major earthquake estimated at magnitude Mw 8.5–8.8, which would seriously affect water and sanitation infrastructure. The Water in Emergencies project aims to enhance the preparedness and response capacities of Lima and Callao’s water and sanitation utility, SEDAPAL, to ensure access to water after a major earthquake or other climate disaster. This includes strengthening SEDAPAL’s disaster-risk-management structures, training staff for emergency response, developing financial and logistical mechanisms, and improves intersectoral coordination for effective response and early recovery. Collaboration is also underway with the Ministry of Housing, Construction and Sanitation to replicate this approach in other water utilities, particularly those exposed to the El Niño event.

Who is at stake if we cannot secure water?

Around 6.1 billion people live in water-insecure countries, and 23 countries are classified as critically water-insecure. Addressing inequality in water access and mitigating the impacts of hydro-climatic extremes is fundamental to sustainable development and poverty reduction.

At the global level, the policy directions for improving water security are well established. Countries, with support from international partners, need to accelerate progress towards SDG 6 and prepare a post-2030 agenda that responds to inequity, climate change, ecosystem degradation and rising competition for water.

This requires four mutually reinforcing areas. First, governments should strengthen equitable water governance, including water allocation rules and mechanisms. Second, to inform water management decisions they should invest in water data, monitoring and technology, such as hydrometeorological systems, water resource mapping and accounting, and early warning systems for extremes. Third, they should build skills and institutional capacity among farmers, local water managers, municipalities, utilities and river basin organizations to optimize their water use and management. And fourth, they should prioritize investments that account for water-related risks, and that support both built infrastructure and nature-based solutions.

“Building a water-secure future for all” will be the focus of the upcoming UN Water Conference in December 2026. The conference is expected to help accelerate SDG 6 implementation ahead of 2030 by mobilizing greater investment, innovation and political will, grounded in solidarity and cooperation.

For people living in water-insecure countries, the conference will only matter if global commitments translate into locally financed, climate-resilient and accountable actions towards water security.