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

The United Nations reported on Tuesday that only 40% of healthcare facilities worldwide meet basic sanitation standards, with 11% lacking any sanitation services. The World Health Organization and UNICEF's 2025 report, which analyzed data from 70 countries, found significant disparities in sanitation access across regions. Only 23% of facilities in sub-Saharan Africa provided basic services, compared to 55% in central and southern Asia.

Alarmingly, more than one in ten health facilities globally had no sanitation services at all, serving 936 million people. The report also highlighted that only 59% of facilities met basic environmental cleaning standards, which are crucial for infection prevention and control. This dire situation is particularly prevalent in poorer countries, where the environmental cleaning standard was met by just 24% of facilities in the world's least-developed nations.