The water crisis is undeniable and the corruption challenge it faces is urgent. More than 1 billion people worldwide have no guaranteed access to water and more than 2 billion are without adequate sanitation. It is estimated that by 2025 more than 3 billion people could be living in water stressed countries.
When corruption is part of the equation, the consequences for development and poverty reduction are dire. Corruption can increase the cost of connecting a household to a water network by more than 30 percent, raising the price tag for achieving the Millennium Development Goals for water and sanitation by a staggering US $48 billion, according to expert estimates in the Global Corruption Report 2008.