The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF have released an updated country progress tracker that shows how countries are advancing efforts to improve water, sanitation, hygiene (WASH) and waste services in health-care facilities. The tracker, now covering 107 countries – up from 75 two years ago – underpins global monitoring against the 2023 United Nations General Assembly Resolution on WASH, waste and electricity in health-care facilities.
The tracker provides the most comprehensive picture yet of how countries are taking forward the eight practical steps to improve WASH services in health facilities, from establishing national standards to developing costed roadmaps, strengthening health information systems and building workforce capacity.
“This data shows that nearly every country is taking action,” said Maggie Montgomery, Technical Officer at WHO. “We see strong momentum on developing national standards and conducting baseline assessments, but critical gaps remain. Only 17% of countries have secured sufficient financing to improve and sustain these essential services. That means patients, staff and communities continue to face unnecessary risks.”
Half of healthcare facilities worldwide lack basic hygiene services with water and soap or alcohol-based hand rub where patients receive care and at toilets in these facilities, according to the latest Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) report by WHO and UNICEF. Around 3.85 billion people use these facilities, putting them at greater risk of infection, including 688 million people who receive care at facilities with no hygiene services at all.
The updated analysis also highlights encouraging trends. Over 90% of countries have undertaken baseline assessments or developed standards. Nearly half of countries updating WASH and waste guidelines are integrating climate resilience and sustainability considerations, such as installing safe water storage, using greener plumbing materials and expanding non-burn waste treatment.
“We’ve seen that progress is possible even in the most challenging contexts,” said Lindsay Denny Naughton, WASH Specialist at UNICEF. “Where countries work on multiple areas at once – from standards to infrastructure to integrating WASH into national health monitoring – these efforts reinforce each other and drive system-wide improvements. It’s clear that equity, including addressing the needs of women, girls and people with disabilities, has to be central to these efforts.”
The updated tracker comes ahead of a global webinar on 29 July, hosted by WHO and UNICEF, which will share country experiences and highlight what more is needed to meet the targets set in the 2023 UN Resolution. The forthcoming WHO/UNICEF Global Progress Report on WASH and waste in health-care facilities, to be launched in October 2025, will provide further insights based on these country updates.
Last week, WHO Europe convened countries and partners in Budapest under the Protocol on Water and Health to explore how global commitments can be translated into action at the national level, including through better financing models and integrating WASH into broader health, climate and antimicrobial resistance strategies.
Montgomery emphasized: “We know what actions need to be taken, we have the tools and evidence and investing makes sense. Every dollar spent on hand hygiene in health-care facilities yields a return of 25 dollars. Now is the time to translate this momentum into concrete, sustainable improvements.”
