UN Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday issued a strong call to the international community to recognize urban water crisis as a crisis of governance, weak policies and poor management, rather than of scarcity.

In a message to mark World Water Day, which is celebrated annually on March 22, Ban said that "as the world charts a more sustainable future, the crucial interplay among water, food and energy is one of the most formidable challenges we face."

Pointing out that the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target for water and sanitization is among those that countries "lag the most," Ban said that "without water, there is no dignity and no escape from poverty."

Ban said that in just over a generation, 60 percent of the global population will be living in towns and cities, with increases in inner city slums and squatter settlements of the developing world.

This year's theme for World Water Day, "Water for Cities," emphasizes the main challenges of an increasingly urban future, the secretary-general said.

"Urbanization brings opportunities for more efficient water management and improved access to drinking water and sanitation," Ban said. "At the same time, problems are often magnified in cities, and are currently outpacing our ability to devise solutions."

The number of urban dwellers who lack access to a water tap in their homes or someplace nearby has grown to around 114 million while the number of those who lack access to the most basic sanitation facilities has risen by 134 million, he noted.

"This 20-percent increase has had a hugely detrimental impact on human health and on economic productivity; people are sick and unable to work," Ban said.

He said that water challenges also go beyond questions of access, citing the example that in many countries, girls are forced to drop out of school due to a lack of sanitation facilities, and women are harassed or assaulted when carrying water or visiting a public toilet.

Water problems will be featured at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development scheduled for June 2012 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Ban said. The secretary-general's high-level panel of global sustainability and UN Water are examining ways of reducing poverty and inequality, generating jobs and minimizing the risks of climate change and environmental stress.

"On World Water Day, I urge governments to recognize the urban water crisis for what it is -- a crisis of governance, weak policies and poor management, rather than one of scarcity," Ban said.

He also called on the international community to pledge to reverse the "alarming decline" in investment in water and sanitation.

"And let us reaffirm our commitment to ending the plight of the more than 800 million people, who, in a world of plenty, still do not have the safe drinking water or sanitation they need for a life in dignity and good health," Ban said.