Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that by 2050 global demand for fresh water is projected to grow by more than 40 per cent and at least a quarter of the world's population will live in countries with a “chronic or recurrent” lack of clean water.
He told the Security Council that “strains on water access are already rising in all regions,” noting that three- quarters of the 193 UN member states share rivers or lake basins with their neighbors.