Writing Task 2 Sample on Global Water Crisis

Water scarcity remains one of the world’s most pressing humanitarian and development challenges. According to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) monitoring, in 2024 about 2.2 billion people still lacked safely managed drinking water services, while 3.4 billion lacked safely managed sanitation and 1.7 billion lacked basic hygiene at home. These deficits are not evenly distributed: people in least‑developed countries are more than twice as likely as those in wealthier nations to lack basic drinking water and sanitation, and more than three times as likely to lack basic hygiene. In fragile contexts, safely managed drinking‑water coverage is 38 percentage points lower than in other countries. Rural areas lag behind cities; while rural drinking‑water access improved from 50 % to 60 % between 2015 and 2024, urban coverage has stagnated.

These statistics translate into daily hardship. The WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme notes that 106 million people still drink water directly from untreated surface sources, and 354 million people practise open defecation due to lack of toilets. Around 611 million people have no hygiene facilities at all. Women and girls are disproportionately affected; in many regions of sub‑Saharan Africa and South Asia, they spend more than 30 minutes per day collecting water. Lack of WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) services can lead to diarrheal diseases, cholera and other infections, causing children to miss school and reducing economic productivity. Inadequate sanitation also contributes to stunting and undernutrition.

Climate change exacerbates water stress by altering rainfall patterns and increasing droughts. The UN warns that without better management and investment, the world could see a 40 % shortfall in freshwater resources by 2030. Ensuring universal access to safe water and sanitation is critical for achieving health, gender equality and education goals. Solutions include investing in infrastructure for water purification and distribution, promoting household water‑treatment technologies and latrines, protecting water sources from pollution, and involving communities—especially women—in water governance. Integrated water‑resource management that considers agricultural and industrial use can balance competing demands. Ultimately, water is a human right; addressing the global water crisis will require coordinated action from governments, civil society and the private sector to ensure no one is left behind.