Despite progress in the past decade, billions of people around the world still do not have safe drinking water, toilets, and hygiene facilities—putting their health and well-being at serious risk.

A new joint report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF, released during World Water Week 2025, shows that while some improvements have been made, huge inequalities remain. The biggest challenges are faced by people in poor countries, fragile situations, rural communities, children, and minority or indigenous groups.

Key findings from the report:

1 in 4 people worldwide (2.1 billion) still do not have safe drinking water. Over 100 million still rely on unsafe sources like rivers or lakes.
3.4 billion people lack safe toilets. About 354 million still practice open defecation.
1.7 billion people lack basic hygiene at home, including 611 million with no facilities at all.
People in the world’s poorest countries are twice as likely to lack safe water and sanitation, and three times as likely to lack basic hygiene.
In fragile regions, safe drinking water access is 38% lower than in stable countries.
Rural communities have improved but still lag behind: access to safe water rose from 50% to 60% since 2015, and hygiene from 52% to 71%. Urban areas, however, have seen little progress.
In 70 countries, most women and girls have menstrual materials and privacy, but many cannot change as often as needed.
Teenage girls (15–19) are less able than adult women to attend school, work, or social activities during their periods.
In many countries, women and girls are mainly responsible for collecting water, with some in Africa and Asia spending 30 minutes or more each day fetching it.
With only five years left to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, progress must speed up. Universal access to safe water, toilets, and hygiene is still far from reality.
What experts say:
“Water, sanitation, and hygiene are not privileges, they are basic human rights,” said Dr. Ruediger Krech of WHO. “We must act faster, especially for the most marginalized communities.”

“When children lack safe water and sanitation, their health, education, and future are at risk,” said UNICEF’s Cecilia Scharp. “Girls face even greater challenges, from collecting water to managing menstruation. Unless we move quicker, safe water and sanitation for all children will remain out of reach.”

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