Around 3.5-million rural people in South Africa are still living without access to clean water, WaterAid Southern Africa regional director Robert Kampala said following the release of WaterAid’s yearly analysis of global water access.

The report, titled ‘Wild Water: The State of the World’s Water’, which was released on World Water Day, reveals that, globally, 663-million people do not have access to clean water, of which 522-million are rural dwellers.

“These communities face particular challenges in gaining access to clean water, owing to their often isolated location, inadequate infrastructure and a continued lack of funding,” the report notes.

This is further compounded by extreme weather events, particularly in Africa, where temperatures are projected to increase faster than the global average rise during the twenty-first century, opening the continent up to the prevalence of malnutrition, along with diseases such as cholera, blinding trachoma, malaria and dengue.

“Rural communities, dependent on farming to make a living, face an increasing struggle to grow food and feed livestock. Women, typically responsible for collecting water, may have to walk ever greater distances during prolonged dry seasons.

“Already, 315 000 children under five are dying each year as a result of diarrhoeal diseases related to dirty water and poor sanitation,” the report highlights.

The report also reveals that India has the greatest numin rural areas without access to clean water.

In Angola, 71% of the rural population live without access to clean drinking water.

“We are calling on international and national leaders to deliver on their promises to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including Goal 6 to ensure access to safe water and sanitation,” says WaterAid UK CEO Barbara Frost, reasserting that clean water is a basic human right.

WaterAid urges governments to prioritise and fund water, sanitation and hygiene, and increase efforts to meet their commitments to the SDGs, including achieving targets to reach everyone, everywhere with safe, clean drinking water, adequate sanitation and hygiene by 2030.