I looked up the World Bank’s official World Development Report 2025, “Standards for Development,” which was recently released, to see how Water and Sanitation issues have been depicted. That report itself is primarily about standards in economic development, with a broad environmental chapter addressing environmental standards such as for air and water quality.
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| World Development Report 2025 |
A few among the highlights that integrate relevant World Bank water sector priorities and issues in 2025 from the report (supported by some references listed in it) are given below.
1. Water resources and quality pressures are
intensifying globally, with climate change, pollution, and ecosystem
degradation undercutting freshwater availability and compounding stress on
rivers, aquifers, and hydrological systems that societies rely on for drinking,
agriculture, and industry.
2. Safe drinking water access remains incomplete,
with over two billion people still lacking safely managed drinking water
services, and rural populations disproportionately underserved despite decades
of progress.
3. Sanitation and hygiene gaps are even larger,
with around 3.4 to 3.5 billion people worldwide without safely managed
sanitation and many lacking basic hygiene services, undermining public health
and making communities vulnerable to water-borne disease.
4. WASH investment and institutional support are
major priorities for the World Bank, reflected in programs that
channel billions in lending to improve water access, sanitation, hygiene, and
climate-resilient water supply infrastructure across countries, with targeted
capacity building and policy reforms that integrate gender and climate
resilience.
5. Transboundary water cooperation, data gaps, and
water management practices remain critical challenges, as progress
toward Sustainable Development Goal 6 (clean water and sanitation) is currently
off track globally, requiring stronger governance, financing, and integrated
water resources management to close service gaps and enhance water quality
outcomes.
You can access the full report at this
link and share your observation in the comment section- https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/wdr2025
Eng Herman M Nguki,
Water Engineer
(Also available on
LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter/X)
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| Water and Wastewater Quality is a key subject in human health sustainability, and it should not be overlooked. |
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