Only 40% of the world’s health facilities meet basic sanitation standards — UN

A stark reality check on global healthcare infrastructure emerged Tuesday as a United Nations report revealed that only 40% of health facilities worldwide meet basic sanitation standards. The comprehensive study by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF found that a significant 11% of these facilities lack any sanitation services at all, impacting millions of people.

The report, which provided global estimates on basic sanitation in healthcare settings for the first time, defined adequate services as including accessible and usable toilets for patients and staff, with specific provisions for people with limited mobility and menstrual hygiene. Data from 70 countries showed considerable regional variations. Sub-Saharan Africa fared particularly poorly, with only 23% of facilities offering basic sanitation, a stark contrast to the 55% reported in central and southern Asia.

Globally, the absence of any sanitation service at over one in 10 health facilities affects an estimated 936 million people. Beyond sanitation, the report also assessed access to water, hygiene, waste management, and environmental cleaning. While 85% of facilities had basic water services and 72% basic hygiene services, only 71% met basic healthcare waste management standards.

The situation is especially concerning regarding environmental cleaning, a critical component of infection prevention and control. Only 59% of facilities met basic environmental cleaning standards, which require established protocols and trained staff. In the world's least-developed nations, this figure drops dramatically to just 24%. A substantial 18% of facilities worldwide, serving approximately 1.5 billion people, failed to meet either environmental cleaning requirement.