Asia, Pacific lift 2.7b people from water insecurity ADB report

Business Desk :

More than 60 percent of Asia and the Pacific’s population– about 2.7 billion people– has been lifted from extreme water insecurity over the past 12 years, but these hard-won gains are threatened by
accelerating environmental decline and a major financing gap, according to a new report of Asian Development Bank (ADB).
The Asian Water Development Outlook (AWDO) 2025, published on Monday, finds that renewed political commitment, targeted investments, and governance reforms since 2013 have driven this progress, reports on BSS.
But ecosystem decline, climate risks, and funding shortfalls for water investments threaten to plunge billions back into water insecurity.
Wetlands, rivers, aquifers, and forests that sustain long-term water security are deteriorating fast. Extreme weather events such as storm surges, rising sea levels, and saltwater intrusion threaten a region which already accounts for 41 percent of the world’s floods. In recent weeks, parts of Southeast and South Asia have been hit by devastating floods, said an ADB press release.
The AWDO estimates that $4 trillion through 2040-or $250 billion a year-is needed to meet the region’s water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) needs alone.
“Asia’s water story is a tale of two realities, with monumental achievements on water security coupled with rising risks that could undermine this progress,” said ADB Senior Director for Water and Urban Development Norio Saito. “Without water security, there is no development. This report shows we need to act urgently to restore ecosystem health, strengthen resilience, improve water governance, and deploy innovative finance to deliver long-term water security-especially for the neediest communities.” he added.
The report said South Asia has made steady but uneven progress in rural water security. Between 2013 and 2025, the population-weighted WASH infrastructure score rose from 2.8 to 6.0, moving from moderate basic coverage to widespread basic coverage with some safely managed services.
Health outcomes improved more sharply, rising from 1.3 to 2.4, reflecting significant reductions in diarrheal disease but still lagging infrastructure gains.
Across the region, the KD1 status score increased from 4.1 to 8.4, with Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka moving out of the Nascent to the Engaged or Capable step.
Future AWDO reports, drawing on data from 2025 or later, are expected to show
further and more substantial progress.
The long-term impact will depend on service quality, including reliability, water safety, and equitable access. Bangladesh’s SafePaani programme shows how professional service providers can improve outcomes in schools through results-based contracts.
The AWDO assesses water security through five dimensions: access to clean water and sanitation for people living in villages and cities; the availability of water for key economic sectors such as agriculture; the state of rivers and other natural ecosystems; and protection measures against droughts, floods, and other water-related disasters.
The region’s steady improvement over the past 12 years is starkly demonstrated in rural India, where 840 million people now have better WASH services, due chiefly to government programmes.