A new report has highlighted persistent inequalities, with vulnerable communities being left behind in accessing essential water, sanitation, and hygienic services.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF have revealed this in a new report dubbed ‘Progress on Household Drinking Water and Sanitation 2000–2024: Special Focus on Inequalities’ that they launched today to mark Water Week 2025.
World Water Week, 24-28 August 2025, is the leading annual conference on global water issues and brings together stakeholders from across sectors to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.
This year, Kenya’s Ministry of Water and Sanitation is representing the Country and participating in high-level discussions on water and energy policies and cross-border projects, highlighting the Angololo multipurpose dam project that Kenya is involved in.
The Angololo Multipurpose Dam is a joint Kenya-Uganda project across the Malaba River designed to provide water for irrigation, domestic use, and hydropower generation, meant to enhance food security, improve livelihoods and control flooding in the Malaba-Sio basin by creating a reservoir and developing associated irrigation systems and power facilities
In a press statement, WHO says that despite progress over the last decade, billions of people around the world still lack access to essential water, sanitation, and hygiene services, putting them at risk of disease and deeper social exclusion.
The report reveals that while some progress has been made, major gaps persist and that people living in low-income countries, fragile contexts, and rural communities; children; and minority ethnic and indigenous groups face the greatest disparities.
According to the report, since 2015, 1 in 4, that is, 2.1 billion people globally, still lack access to safely managed drinking water including 106 million, who drink directly from untreated surface sources.
The report further says that 3.4 billion people still lack safely managed sanitation including 354 million, who practice open defecation and a further 1.7 billion people still lacking basic hygiene services at home, including 611 million without access to any facilities.
“People in least developed countries are more than twice as likely as people in other countries to lack basic drinking water and sanitation services and more than three times as likely to lack basic hygiene,” the report says.
While there have been improvements for people living in rural areas, the report says they still lag behind and that safely managed drinking water coverage rose from 50 percent to 60 per cent between 2015 and 2024, and basic hygiene coverage from 52 per cent to 71 percent.
In contrast, drinking water and hygiene coverage in urban areas has also stagnated.
As we approach the last five years of the Sustainable Development Goals period, achieving the 2030 targets for ending open defecation and universal access to basic water, sanitation and hygiene services will require acceleration, while universal coverage of safely managed services appears increasingly out of reach.
Dr. Ruediger Krech, Director, Environment, Climate Change and Health, World Health Organization, said that all must accelerate action, especially for the most marginalized communities, if we are to keep our promise to reach the Sustainable Development Goals.
“Water, sanitation and hygiene are not privileges; they are basic human rights,” he said
Data from 70 countries show that while most women and adolescent girls have menstrual materials and a private place to change, many lack sufficient materials to change as often as needed.
Cecilia Scharp, UNICEF Director of WASH, said that when children lack access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene, their health, education and futures are put at risk.
These inequalities, she added, are especially stark for girls, who often bear the burden of water collection and face additional barriers during menstruation.
“At the current pace, the promise of safe water and sanitation for every child is slipping further from reach reminding us that we must act faster and more boldly to reach those who need it most,” she added
The report says that adolescent girls aged 15–19 are less likely than adult women to participate in activities during menstruation, such as school, work, and social pastimes.
In most countries with available data, women and girls are primarily responsible for water collection, with many in sub-Saharan Africa and Central and Southern Asia spending more than 30 minutes per day collecting water.
Produced by the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene, the report provides new national, regional, and global estimates for water, sanitation, and hygiene services in households from 2000 until 2024.
The report also includes expanded data on menstrual health for 70 countries, revealing challenges that affect women and girls across all income levels.
By Wangari Ndirangu
