On one side, France in particular, but many other "developed" nations as well have stepped in to build the infrastructure and provide clean water to places where it was problematic.
Only to monopolize water distribution one way or the other, resulting in people not able to afford the water at the end, while losing their previous precarious access to dirty but natural sources as well.
Nestle, Danone are the poster child of these predatory moves.
On the other side, there few places poorer countries can turn to. Japan might be one, but they suck at diplomacy. Then there is China, and they need to be willing to dance.
And places lacking water tend to lack education and political freedom as well.
I'd want to hold higher hopes, but it only ever progresses so slowly, as the incentives are basically stacked against real progress.
Has anyone more than small scale feel good stories or "promising advancements". Do we have things that really improved at scale in the last ten or twenty years ?