UN Raises Alarm as Majority of Global Health Facilities Lack Basic Sanitation.

Only four in 10 healthcare facilities worldwide met basic sanitation standards in 2025, while about 11 per cent had no sanitation services at all, the United Nations has said.

The figures were contained in a new report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF released on Tuesday, providing the first global estimates of basic sanitation services in healthcare facilities.

According to the WHO and UNICEF report, basic sanitation requires healthcare facilities to provide usable toilets, including at least one for staff, a sex separated toilet with menstrual hygiene facilities and an accessible toilet for people with limited mobility.

The report, based on data from 70 countries, found major regional disparities. Only 23 per cent of healthcare facilities in sub Saharan Africa met basic sanitation standards, compared with 55 per cent in central and southern Asia.

It also found that more than one in 10 healthcare facilities globally had no sanitation services, affecting an estimated 936 million people.

Beyond sanitation, the report assessed access to water, hygiene, environmental cleaning and healthcare waste management.

It estimated that 85 per cent of healthcare facilities had basic water services, while 72 per cent had basic hygiene services and 71 per cent met basic healthcare waste management standards.

The report further showed that only 59 per cent of facilities met basic environmental cleaning standards, which require appropriate cleaning protocols and trained personnel.

According to the report, about 18 per cent of healthcare facilities, serving approximately 1.5 billion people, met neither of the basic environmental cleaning requirements.

The situation was particularly concerning in the world’s least developed countries, where only 24 per cent of healthcare facilities met the required environmental cleaning standard.

The UN agencies warned that inadequate sanitation, hygiene and environmental cleaning in healthcare facilities could undermine infection prevention efforts and put both patients and health workers at risk.