UN-Habitat’s 2024 Global Water Operators’ Partnerships Alliance Annual Report highlights global efforts to strengthen public water and sanitation utilities through solidarity-based peer support. The report showcases how Water Operators’ Partnerships (WOPs) are helping utilities deliver better, more inclusive services – advancing sustainable urbanization and the human right to water and sanitation.

Worldwide, 2.1 billion people are still without safe water, available whenever they need it. Figures relating to sanitation are even more alarming with 4.5 billion still lacking safe services that protect them from disease.

For most of the world’s population, local public utilities are their lifeline to water and sanitation services. These services are human rights, and access to them underpins virtually every SDG.