Unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) still drive at least 1.4-million preventable deaths each year, while climate shocks, outbreaks, migration and aging infrastructure present additional challenges. Despite gains since 2015, 1 in 4 – or 2.1-billion people globally – still lack access to safely managed drinking water, including 106-million who drink directly from untreated surface sources; 3.4-billion people still lack safely managed sanitation, including 354-million who practice open defecation.

Addressing these persistent gaps requires coordinated global action, and WHO’s leadership on WASH is a critical part of that effort. By setting evidence-based norms and standards, strengthening regulatory and monitoring systems, and supporting countries to embed WASH into health policies and service delivery, WHO helps translate proven interventions into sustained impact.

The WHO water, sanitation, hygiene and waste strategy 2026–2035 offers an opportunity to strengthen WHO’s contribution to improving health through WASH actions within and beyond WHO; to reinforce and strengthen WHO’s relationship with WASH partners; to mobilise investment; to strengthen alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the UN system-wide strategy on water and sanitation, and relevant regional policy frameworks; and to build on synergies between the SDGs, health and WASH.

Report by the World Health Organization