The role of the World Health Organization in drinking water, sanitation and hygiene and updated publications

Rola Al-Emam

WASH, Occupational Health and Healthcare Waste Management, Climate Change, Health and Environment, Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office, World Health Organization (WHO/EMRO/CHE)
Tel. +962 6 5100676, Mobile +962 799726417, email: alemamr@who.int

(2025) 10–11
https://doi.org/10.5004.dsal.2025.700097

Abstract

Safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) are crucial to human health and wellbeing. Safe WASH is not only a prerequisite to health, but contributes to livelihoods, school attendance and dignity and helps to create resilient communities living in healthy environments. Historically, the World Health Organization (WHO) work has included WASH components since the inception of the Organization in 1948. WHO has played a long-standing and significant role in promoting WASH as an objective and respected source of international guidelines, standards and normative information. The WHO vision for WASH is: “To substantially improve health through the safe management of water, sanitation and hygiene services in all settings”. WASH is enshrined in the WHO constitution. WHO takes on board the need for progressive realization of the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, adopted by the UN General Assembly in July 2010. It has consistently issued health-based guidelines and good practice publications on WASH, which are designed to assist countries in developing national standards, informing regulations and establishing effective surveillance systems. For decades, WHO has monitored global and country access to water and sanitation. While the Organization has had various flagship priorities over the years, technical work on WASH issues has been a constant and is often included in broader initiatives. WHO assists countries in improving policy, governance and monitoring towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) beyond the WASH-focused SDG 6, e.g. SDG 3 on health and SDG 13 on climate change, which cannot be met without meaningful progress on Goal 6.