GLOBAL economic cost of water insecurity is approaching $500 billion per year, the World Bank group president, David Malpass, has said.

Malpass disclosed that the group’s research revealed that poor water quality could reduce economic growth by as much as a third.

The World Bank chief, making the submissions at the United Nations 2023 Water Conference, which held in New York from March 22-24, added m that over 2.3 billion people lacked safe drinking water.

“We need clean water for healthy children and adults to realise their potential as productive members of the society,” he said.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) had in a recent analysis disclosed that 78 million children in Nigeria are at the highest risk from a convergence of three water-related threats – inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), related diseases and climate hazards.

The UNICEF Nigeria Chief of WASH, Jane Bevan, said in a statement on Monday, March 20, that water-related crises are endangering the lives of 78 million children in Nigeria, and urged all stakeholders to take urgent actions to address the water crisis in Nigeria.

“The climate crisis is accelerating the water crisis,” Malpass said, adding that water could also be a part of climate action through nature-based infrastructure, improved irrigation, and climate adaptation.

The World Bank Group is the largest provider of climate finance to developing countries, with $31.7 billion in the year 2022.

“We have made addressing global challenges such as climate change, conflict and pandemics a priority ­—our financing for them has more than tripled over the past decade. It has doubled during my presidency, reaching over $100 billion between 2020 and 2022,” Malpass added.