[Summary] The United Nations World Water Development Report 2019: Leaving No One Behind; Executive Summary

People from different groups are ‘left behind’ for different reasons. Discrimination, exclusion, marginalization, entrenched power asymmetries and material inequalities are among the main obstacles to achieving the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation for all and realizing the water-related goals of the 2030 Agenda. Poorly designed and inadequately implemented policies, inefficient and improper use of financial resources, as well as policy gaps fuel the persistence of inequalities in access to safe drinking water and sanitation. Unless exclusion and inequality are explicitly and responsively addressed in both policy and practice, water interventions will continue to fail to reach those most in need and who are likely to benefit most.Improving water resources management and providing access to safe and affordable drinking water and sanitation for all is essential for eradicating poverty, building peaceful and prosperous societies, and ensuring that ‘no one is left behind’ on the road towards sustainable development. These goals are entirely achievable, provided there is a collective will to do so.