Water scarcity already affects every continent. Around 1.2 billion people, or almost one-fifth of the world's population, live in areas of physical scarcity, and 500 million people are approaching this situation. Another 1.6 billion people, or almost one quarter of the world's population, face economic water shortage (where countries lack the necessary infrastructure to take water from rivers and aquifers). The way water scarcity issues are addressed impacts upon the successful achievement of most of the Millennium Development Goals.

Despite substantial progress, the world is still falling short of the MDG child mortality target.