- Only four in 10 healthcare facilities globally meet basic sanitation requirements, according to WHO and UNICEF.
- About 936 million people are served by health facilities with no sanitation services.
- Sub-Saharan Africa records one of the lowest rates, with only 23 per cent of facilities meeting basic sanitation standards.
Only 40 per cent of healthcare facilities worldwide met basic sanitation standards in 2025, leaving millions of patients and health workers without adequate access to safe and usable toilets, according to the World Health Organisation and UNICEF.
Eko Hot Blog reports that the report, released on Tuesday, provided the first global estimates specifically measuring access to basic sanitation services in healthcare facilities.
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According to the agencies, basic sanitation requires healthcare facilities to have usable toilets that meet the needs of patients and staff, including people with limited mobility.
The standard also requires at least one toilet dedicated to staff, at least one sex-separated toilet equipped with menstrual hygiene facilities and at least one toilet accessible to people with limited mobility.
The findings were based on data from 70 countries and revealed major differences in sanitation access across regions.
Sub-Saharan Africa recorded one of the lowest levels of access, with only 23 per cent of healthcare facilities meeting basic sanitation requirements.
In comparison, 55 per cent of healthcare facilities in Central and Southern Asia met the basic standard.
Globally, more than one in 10 healthcare facilities had no sanitation service at all. The report estimated that these facilities serve about 936 million people.
The sanitation gap is part of a broader challenge facing healthcare systems, particularly in low-income countries, where inadequate water, hygiene, waste management and environmental cleaning can increase the risk of infections.
The WHO and UNICEF report also examined other essential services required to maintain safe healthcare environments.
It found that 85 per cent of healthcare facilities globally had basic water services in 2025, while 72 per cent had basic hygiene services.
About 71 per cent of facilities met basic standards for healthcare waste management.
Environmental cleaning, another critical component of infection prevention and control, recorded a lower rate. Only 59 per cent of healthcare facilities met the basic environmental cleaning standard.
The standard requires facilities to have cleaning protocols as well as trained personnel responsible for maintaining cleanliness.
The report further found that 18 per cent of healthcare facilities, serving approximately 1.5 billion people, met neither of the requirements for basic environmental cleaning.
Data for the environmental cleaning assessment was drawn from 54 countries.
The situation was particularly concerning in the world’s least-developed countries, where only 24 per cent of healthcare facilities met the environmental cleaning standard.
The findings highlight the challenges faced by healthcare facilities in maintaining safe and hygienic environments for patients, medical personnel and visitors.
The WHO and UNICEF stressed the importance of strengthening water, sanitation, hygiene, cleaning and waste management services as part of efforts to improve infection prevention and ensure safer healthcare delivery globally.
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