ACCESS TO WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE SERVICES

Growing up in a clean and safe environment is every child’s right. Safe water, reliable sanitation and good hygiene are vital for their survival. UNICEF provides children with access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services so they can have a healthier start in life.

WASH IS A CRITICAL AREA OF UNICEF’S WORK

Without access to WASH services, children’s health, nutrition and education are negatively affected. 

While some parts of the world have improved access to water, sanitation and hygiene services, millions of children and their families, especially in low-income countries, still can’t get clean and safe water. Climate change is also destroying, drying up and contaminating water sources, leading to greater water scarcity in many regions. 

The consequences of unsafe water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene are deadly for children. Without basic WASH facilities, children often get life-threatening diseases like diarrhea, cholera and respiratory infections. Over 700 children under age five die every day of diarrheal diseases due to lack of appropriate water, sanitation and hygiene services.

Girls are particularly affected by poor WASH conditions. They are often denied their right to education because of the lack of access to feminine hygiene products, or the fact that many schools don’t have proper, safe sanitation facilities for them to use.  As the task of collecting water for their household falls largely to girls, the time they spend on this chore (which often means walking long distances) cuts into their time learning at school.

HOW UNICEF IS PROVIDING WASH SERVICES TO CHILDREN

UNICEF works in 130 countries to provide children with access to safe water and reliable sanitation, and promote proper hygiene practices.

ACCESS TO SAFE WATER

To ensure children grow up healthy and happy, UNICEF works to help countries move towards water services that are safe, sustainable and affordable. We help identify threats to water quality to lower the risk of water contamination. We also work with our partners to ensure water services in low-income countries are properly maintained.

IMPROVED SANITATION SERVICES

Poor sanitation puts children at risk of deadly childhood diseases, as well as malnutrition that can impact their growth, education and future opportunities. UNICEF is there to help provide essential sanitation facilities and services that children need to fight diseases and grow up healthy. 

We’re also working with our partners to change behaviours to end the practice of defecating in the open (such as in fields, bushes, or by bodies of water) which, combined with poor hygiene practices, is a leading cause of child mortality. We are helping countries with high open defecation rates to build low-cost household toilets so that ‘toilet use by all’ becomes the new norm.

PROPEr HYGIENE PRACTICES

Behaviour and social change are at the heart of UNICEF’s work in hygiene. We focus on key behaviours that help children and their families maintain proper hygiene to keep them healthy, such as hand washing with soap, safe disposal of child feces, safe handling and storage of drinking water, and menstrual hygiene.

In 2023 thanks to your support: 

• Over 7,500 schools and 3,000 healthcare facilities were provided with basic water, sanitation and hygiene services; 
• 7.9 million women and adolescent girls were supported with programs to address menstrual health and hygiene; 
• 5.4 million people used climate-resilient water systems and 4.8 million used climate-resilient sanitation facilities.