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A United Nations report advises that decades of chronic underfunding of water infrastructure is putting many countries at worse risk in the Coronavirus crisis, with more than half the global population lacking access to safely managed sanitation.

Released to coincide with today’s World Water Day, the UN World Water Development report points to the underfunding of water infrastructure around the world, despite its importance.

With good hygiene - soap and water - seen as the first line of defence against Coronavirus and a vast range of other diseases, three quarters of households in developing countries do not have access to somewhere to wash with soap and water, according to Tim Wainwright, chief executive of the charity WaterAid.

A third of healthcare facilities in developing countries also lack access to clean water on site.

Richard Connor, Editor-in-Chief of the UN World Water Development report, told UK newspaper The Observer that water was often overlooked for spending and investment because the economic benefits of better water and sanitation were not emphasised.

Advising that the Coronavirus crisis sheds new light on those mistakes, Connor stated “one of the reasons underlying the investment gap in water and sanitation is that these services are perceived mainly as a social - and in some cases environmental - issue, rather than an economic one, like energy.

“Yet the economic costs of an outbreak (such as Coronavirus) are enormous, both in terms of national economies and stock markets, as well as in terms of household revenue - when people cannot work because of sickness or lockdowns. Realising the economic importance of water and sanitation should provide an additional catalyst for greater investment.”

Another reason cited for the neglect of water and sanitation is that people are generally willing to pay for the water coming into their homes, but not for transporting and treating afterwards.

Connor added “once it is flushed down the toilet, it disappears and becomes someone else’s problem.

“Treating wastewater is several times more expensive than treating the source water in the first place. So without a willingness to pay on the part of users, it falls on governments to foot the bill, and since they do not recognise the economic value of wastewater treatment – which is perceived as more of an environmental issue - the political will behind such spending is low.”

Water use has increased sixfold in the past century and is rising by about 1% a year owing to rising populations and increasing demand, while climate breakdown means that more areas of the world will see stress on their water supplies, including regions where supplies were previously abundant, such as many parts of Europe, Asia and north America.

The infographic below on water usage in the workplace, comes from Waterlogic, manufacturers of plumbed-in office water dispensers.

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