Mismanagement, limited resources and environmental damage have combined to deny 1.1 billion people access to safe water, a UN report said Thursday (March 9). Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the hardest-hit areas, where ecological degradation, poor water management and a burgeoning population have led to water shortages exacerbating poverty, disease and drought, the report said. The report was compiled by 24 UN agencies, who say it is the most comprehensive assessment to date of the planet's freshwater supplies. Globally, diarrheal diseases and malaria kill around 3.1 million people a year.