A/RES/80/216 The human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation number of people practising open defecation decreased from 715 million to 354 million during this period, Deeply concerned that, more than 15 years after the adoption of resolution 64/292, 2.1 billion people lack safely managed drinking water and 3.4 billion people lack safely managed sanitation, including 1.7 billion people without basic sanitation services at home, which represents a global human rights and development challenge, and that achieving universal coverage by 2030 will require a substantial increase in current global rates of progress pursued within a guiding framework aimed at the full realization of human rights, Deeply concerned also that pandemics exacerbate existing inequalities, and that those disproportionately at risk are women, girls and persons in vulnerable situations, recognizing the need to expand as a matter of utmost urgency access to adequate water and sanitation services, including for menstrual health and hygiene management, and to ensure continued access to existing services in this regard, including sexual and reproductive healthcare services, and gravely concerned that as of 2023 2.3 billion people worldwide lacked basic hand-washing facilities at home, which are urgently needed to prevent the spread of pandemics and other infectious diseases, Deeply concerned further about the lack of access to adequate water and sanitation services and its dramatic consequences for the overall health situation in humanitarian emergencies and crises, including in times of conflict and natural disaster, and acknowledging that people living in countries affected by armed conflict and natural disasters and in countries particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change, as well as people living in refugee camps, including in refugee host countries, are more likely to lack access to basic drinking water and to basic sanitation than people living in unaffected countries, while acknowledging the efforts of refugee host countries in improving the situation of people living in refugee camps, Deeply concerned that women and girls often face, especially in humanitarian emergencies and crises, including in times of armed conflict or natural disaster, particular barriers in accessing water and sanitation and hygiene services, as well as menstrual health and hygiene management, and that they shoulder the main burden of collecting household water and of care responsibilities, including those arising from waterborne diseases, in many parts of the world, restricting their time for other activities, such as education and leisure, or, for women, for earning a livelihood, Deeply concerned also that achieving universal and equitable access to safe water and sanitation services by 2030 will require up to a sixfold increase in current rates of progress, Deeply alarmed by indiscriminate attacks and attacks deliberately targeting civilian objects in armed conflict, which may injure personnel and damage civilian infrastructure that are critical to the delivery of essential services to the civilian population, Deeply alarmed also that water, sanitation and hygiene-related diseases hit children the hardest, while noting that child diarrhoea remains a leading cause of death in children under 5 years of age, and underscoring that progress on reducing child mortality, morbidity and stunting is linked to children’s and women’s universal and equitable access to safe drinking water and sanitation and that, in humanitarian emergencies and crises, including in times of armed conflict or natural disaster, children suffer the most from interruptions in water and sanitation services, Deeply concerned that persons with disabilities, especially children, often lack universal and equitable access to safe and sustainably managed drinking water and sanitation and face barriers in accessing water and sanitation facilities that are 4/9 25-20968