ISTANBUL — Approximately 4.4 billion people worldwide are without access to safe drinking water, according to a recent study.

The study, published in the Science journal, was conducted by scientists, including Esther Greenwood from the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology.

It indicated that over half the world's population may be without clean, accessible water, the British weekly scientific journal Nature reported.

Almost half of those affected live in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the researchers found.

"There's an urgent need for the situation to change," Greenwood said.

In 2020, the World Health Organization and UN Children's Fund estimated that there were 2.2 billion people without access to safe drinking water.

The UN has recognized safe drinking water as a human right since 2015.

Meanwhile, the ongoing conflict in Gaza has exacerbated water insecurity, with the WHO warning of potential polio outbreaks due to deteriorating sanitation conditions.