Urgent action is needed to strengthen national water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) systems so countries can accelerate progress towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 and protect health, especially in the face of growing climate-related risks and recurring disease outbreaks.
New findings from State of systems for drinking-water, sanitation and hygiene: Global update 2025, the UN-Water Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water (GLAAS) report developed jointly by WHO and UNICEF, provide a comprehensive picture of what is holding WASH services back. The analysis draws on data from 105 countries and territories (covering 62% of the global population) and 21 development partners, including UN agencies, multilateral financing institutions, and international nongovernmental organizations.
Many countries have policies and targets in place, but implementation is constrained by fragmentation, workforce gaps, and financing that does not reliably translate into results
“With less than five years until 2030, we are at a critical moment to review SDG 6 and take decisive action to accelerate implementation,” said Dr Alvaro Lario, Chair of UN-Water and President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). “The choices we make now will determine whether we achieve our common goals and ensure WASH is a catalyst for better public health and its transformational benefits, particularly for vulnerable people.”
Delivery capacity holds progress back
Across countries, the pattern is clear: plans exist, but delivery capacity is thin. Many countries have policies and targets in place, but implementation is constrained by fragmentation, workforce gaps, and financing that does not reliably translate into results. For example:
- fewer than 13% of countries reported having sufficient financial and human resources to implement their WASH plans;
- sixty-four per cent of countries reported overlapping roles and responsibilities across government institutions – often leading to inefficiencies and uncoordinated efforts; and
- while most countries have national targets for drinking-water and sanitation, only 49% reported a national hand hygiene target.
Despite steady global progress, unmet needs remain vast. WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) estimates show that 2.1 billion people still lack safely managed drinking-water, 3.4 billion lack safely managed sanitation, and 1.7 billion lack basic hygiene services.
Accelerating progress on SDG 6 depends on stronger WASH systems and sectors – including financing, policy, governance, capacity and data
“Millions of lives continue to be lost each year due to inadequate access to safe drinking-water, sanitation and hygiene,” said Dr Ruediger Krech, Director a.i., Department of Environment, Climate Change, One Health & Migration at the World Health Organization. “This demands stronger WASH systems – how water and sanitation services are planned, resourced and run – and greater investment from governments and partners to deliver safely managed services for all.”
Financing, regulation and climate resilience
The report identifies major opportunities to accelerate progress by improving how WASH resources are planned, executed and regulated. Data from 20 countries participating indicate a funding gap of 46% between identified needs and available funding to reach national targets. Efficiency losses further undermine services, with non-revenue water averaging 39% among reporting countries.
Less than half of countries reported that regulatory authorities publish publicly accessible reports on drinking-water quality, and only about one fifth reported drinking-water surveillance occurring at nearly all of the required frequency. While most countries include water safety planning in policies and regulations, implementation at scale remains limited.
Encouragingly, many countries are integrating climate considerations into WASH systems: 80% address climate risks in WASH policies and plans. However, targeted measures for populations disproportionately affected by climate change are much weaker – only 20% of countries reported having measures to finance actions that support these populations, and just 42% reported measures to monitor progress in this area.
“The new GLAAS findings underline how accelerating progress on SDG 6 depends on stronger WASH systems and sectors – including financing, policy, governance, capacity and data, which will promote sustainability and build upon what is already working,” said Cecilia Scharp, Director, Global Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Practice, UNICEF. “As countries prepare for the 2026 UN Water Conference later this year, this report provides timely evidence to inform shifts towards more resilient systems that ensure services reach the most vulnerable children.”
Health impacts remain severe
These gaps have severe health consequences: at least 1.4 million people died in 2019 from preventable causes linked to unsafe water and poor sanitation, and in 2024 there were over 560 000 cholera cases and 6000 reported deaths across 60 countries.
The report was released at the opening of the High-Level Preparatory Meeting for the 2026 UN Water Conference (26–27 January 2026, Dakar, Senegal), co-hosted by Senegal and the United Arab Emirates, ahead of the main conference in December 2026.
The complete GLAAS 2024/2025 dataset is available on the GLAAS data portal.
