UNICEF says attacks on conflict-zone water systems tripled from 2021 to 2025
A UNICEF report says reported attacks damaging or destroying water and sanitation systems rose threefold between 2021 and 2025, across 23 countries and territories. UNICEF warns that disrupted water supplies put children at greater risk of disease, malnutrition and violence; its report documents attacks and other damage affecting systems, workers and the communities that depend on them.
Bottom line — UNICEF says only 26% of the funding required for humanitarian water and sanitation responses in 2026 has been received.
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UN News reports incidents rose from fewer than 45 in eight countries in 2021 to more than 135 in 15 countries in 2025.
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UNICEF identifies seven forms of attack, including strikes on treatment plants, contamination of water sources and restrictions on treatment chemicals and spare parts.
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UNICEF reports that in March 2024, only one of Khartoum State’s 13 water treatment plants was functioning.
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In Gaza, UNICEF says more than 130 kilometres of sewage pipelines have been damaged since October 2023.
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UNICEF says more than 145 water points were destroyed in Burkina Faso between 2020 and 2025, cutting off access for around 830,000 people.
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UNICEF reports that attacks on energy infrastructure in Ukraine left nearly 7 million children without reliable access to electricity, heating and water by December 2022.
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The World Health Organization linked a hepatitis E outbreak in camps in eastern Chad to poor water and sanitation; half of 2,092 suspected cases recorded from January to April 2024 were among children aged 6 to 17, according to RFI.
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UNICEF says water shortages can disrupt healthcare, including sterilising equipment and preparing therapeutic milk for malnourished children.
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UNICEF documents children being killed or injured while queuing for water, including in Gaza; it says women and girls fetch water outside the home in seven out of ten households where families must collect it.
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UNICEF reports that around 65% of its supported water systems in Afghanistan run on solar power.