Water-ladder reality check

Because most 'unsafe' users have improved sources, WASH priorities shift to reliability. WHO/UNICEF service ladders show only ~156 million use surface water while roughly three-quarters of the two billion without 'safe' water rely on protected wells or piped sources that are off-premise, intermittent, or at contamination risk; policy should pivot to on-premise access, continuous supply, and water-quality monitoring rather than only building new sources. — Redirects funding and program design for SDG6 toward reliability, quality, and access, with knock-on effects for health outcomes, gendered time burdens, and urban/rural infrastructure planning.