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Don't let water fall through the cracks

  • Families in places hit hardest by conflict and the climate crisis are losing access to safe water.
  • The money to deliver access to safe water isn't reaching the people who need it most.
  • This December, at the UN Water Conference, we’re calling on the UK government to commit, publicly, to increasing investment in water security for the people being left behind.
  • Will you join us?
More about this issue

Don't let water fall through the cracks

  • Families in places hit hardest by conflict and the climate crisis are losing access to safe water.
  • The money to deliver access to safe water isn't reaching the people who need it most.
  • This December, at the UN Water Conference, we’re calling on the UK government to commit, publicly, to increasing investment in water security for the people being left behind.
  • Will you join us?
More about this issue

Our letter to the UK government

Dear Minister Kirsty McNeill,

Water is a human right and we can’t let it fall through the cracks.

As the Minister of State for International Development, you will know that without reliable, safe water everything suffers. Health security, food security, climate security, human security and economic security are all at risk.

When water systems fail, disease spreads, harvests are lost, children miss school, people are displaced and communities are pushed deeper into poverty.

Whether through drought or flooding, access to safe water is a key human need and right. Recent floods in Nepal are a stark reminder that the climate crisis is also a water crisis, and this is only going to increase as we continue to face the devasting impacts of El Niño.

With the UN Water Conference approaching it is an important opportunity for the UK to show leadership and take action.

Minister, we need you and the UK government to:

  • Show global leadership on water security by attending the UN Water Conference yourself with a strong UK delegation and using the conference to champion water security.
  • Prioritise investment in the world's most water-insecure communities, particularly those affected by climate change, conflict and extreme poverty, so that no one is pushed behind.
  • Recognise water security as fundamental to health, food, climate, human and economic security, helping communities withstand growing global challenges.

Regards

The Undersigned

Help us to not let water fall through the cracks

Day after day, families in places hit hardest by conflict and the climate crisis are losing access to safe water, not because it doesn’t exist, but because the money that would deliver it isn’t reaching them.

The UK government has named these communities its priority for aid. Somalia and South Sudan sit at the top of that list. Yet UK funding to both has been cut by nearly half. Aid that helps fund water and sanitation, cut anyway.

Private investment won’t step in, it flows to lower-risk economies, not fragile and conflict-affected states.

Britain has a new prime minister now. The cuts haven’t changed.

This December, the UK government will stand on the world stage at the UN Water Conference and have the chance to lead. We’re calling on them to commit, publicly, to increasing investment in water security for the communities being left behind, and to prove that "priority" means something.

Will you join us by adding your name to the open letter?

More information

Open letters and petitions are an important way to show how many people care about an issue. This is one powerful tactic to put pressure on decision makers. Whether by getting media attention, supporting our public campaigning activity, or helping us to show MPs and the government that there is public demand to make certain changes. The louder we raise our collective voice, the harder we are to ignore.

We collect postcodes to provide evidence that the names on the open letter or petition are based in the UK.

Yes, water is a human right.

Oxfam has been working to provide water for decades. Through community-led projects to refugee camps, we know water. Which is why on World Water Day 2026 we spoke out and said Water for all should not be a luxury.

A devastating crisis is unfolding in Sudan and across the wider Central and East African region.

Nearly 21 million people are facing violence and severe hunger, and 12 million have been forced to flee their homes. It's become the largest humanitarian crisis in the world. Yet in the UK, it’s barely making the news.

Find out what is happening in South Sudan.

This isn't the only crisis happening. For example in Nepal the climate crisis has caused huge flash flooding causing a national emergency.

Climate and water emergencies are all too common now, whether too much water or too little – access to safe clean water supplies should be a human right.

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