Safely managed drinking water (SMDW) is vital to human health and development and is a key focus of Sustainable Development Goal 6. Yet in 2020, 40% of people in rural areas still lacked access to SMDW services. These global estimates often rely only on a household’s primary water source and do not reflect the complexities of real-life water use — such as multiple source reliance or seasonal switching, which can undermine the safety and reliability of water.
To better understand these dynamics, World Vision conducted a 14-country study across rural WaSH programs, analyzing household water service parameters like source type, distance, availability, quality, and quantity. The findings underscore the importance of incorporating household practices and seasonal variation into global water monitoring efforts and program design, to more effectively support equitable and sustainable access to SMDW in rural communities.
