Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) said in a report Monday that the total water and irrigation projects it funded around the globe since establishment have reached about 100 projects worth more than USD 1.6 billion. 
The Fund's contribution to support these projects came from its conviction in achieving sustainable development, taking into consideration the water shortages and environmental challenges facing the world, the KFAED report, obtained by Kuwait News Agency, said. 
The fund works to support basic development sectors, said the report, adding that during the past five decades it offered the necessary support for the implementation of about 800 projects in more than 100 countries with a total value of about USD 17 billion. 
A global statistics shows that lack of basic sanitation for about 2.5 billion people around the world, and at least about 780 million people are not getting clean drinking water, resulting in the emergence of many health problems, heavy economic losses, and a slowdown in GDP growth, the report added. 
The world will face a shortage of about 40 percent of the total demand for water and quantities available by 2030. Providing drinking water to nine billion people by 2050 will require a lot of water which exceeded the available resources, said KFAED.