Daijiworld Media Network - Dakar

Dakar, Jan 27: Urgent action is required to strengthen national water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) systems to accelerate progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 6 and protect public health, particularly amid rising climate risks and recurring disease outbreaks, according to a new UN report.

The findings are outlined in State of systems for drinking-water, sanitation and hygiene: Global update 2025, released under the UN-Water Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water (GLAAS) programme developed jointly by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF. The report draws on data from 105 countries and territories, covering 62 per cent of the global population, along with inputs from 21 development partners.

“With less than five years until 2030, we are at a critical moment to review SDG 6 and take decisive action,” said Dr Alvaro Lario, Chair of UN-Water and President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development. He said choices made now would determine whether WASH becomes a catalyst for improved public health, especially for vulnerable populations.

The report notes that while many countries have WASH policies and targets in place, weak delivery capacity is holding back progress. Fewer than 13 per cent of countries reported having adequate financial and human resources to implement their plans, while 64 per cent cited overlapping roles across institutions, leading to inefficiencies. Although most countries have national targets for drinking-water and sanitation, only 49 per cent reported having a national target for hand hygiene.

Despite steady progress, unmet needs remain large. WHO and UNICEF estimates show that 2.1 billion people still lack safely managed drinking-water, 3.4 billion lack safely managed sanitation and 1.7 billion are without basic hygiene services.

“Millions of lives continue to be lost each year due to inadequate access to safe drinking-water, sanitation and hygiene,” said Dr Ruediger Krech of the WHO, calling for stronger systems and greater investment to deliver safe services for all.

The report highlights major financing and regulatory gaps, with data from 20 countries showing a 46 per cent funding shortfall between needs and available resources. Efficiency losses remain high, with non-revenue water averaging 39 per cent among reporting countries. Less than half of countries publish publicly accessible drinking-water quality reports, and only about one fifth conduct surveillance at nearly all required frequencies.

While 80 per cent of countries now address climate risks in WASH policies, targeted measures for populations most affected by climate change remain limited. Only 20 per cent reported financing mechanisms to support such groups, and 42 per cent reported systems to monitor progress.

“These findings underline that accelerating progress on SDG 6 depends on stronger WASH systems, including financing, governance and data,” said Cecilia Scharp of UNICEF, adding that the report offers timely evidence as countries prepare for the 2026 UN Water Conference.

The health impact of inadequate WASH services remains severe. At least 1.4 million people died in 2019 from preventable causes linked to unsafe water and poor sanitation, while in 2024 more than 560,000 cholera cases and 6,000 deaths were reported across 60 countries.

The report was released at the High-Level Preparatory Meeting for the 2026 UN Water Conference held in Dakar, Senegal, co-hosted by Senegal and the United Arab Emirates.