The World Health Organization and UNICEF have reported that only 40% of healthcare facilities worldwide meet basic sanitation standards, which includes accessible and usable toilets for patients and staff. According to the report, 11% of health facilities have no sanitation services at all, affecting over 936 million people. The data is based on estimates from 70 countries and shows significant gaps in access to basic sanitation standards between regions, with sub-Saharan Africa having the lowest rate at just 23%. The report also found that many facilities lack basic environmental cleaning standards, which are crucial for infection prevention and control.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-18,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
The United Nations reported that only 40% of health care facilities worldwide meet basic sanitation standards. This means that 60% of these facilities do not have adequate toilets for patients and staff. The report found that some regions are much worse off than others, with 23% of facilities in sub-Saharan Africa meeting the basic sanitation standards, compared to 55% in higher-income countries. Overall, 11% of healthcare facilities worldwide have no sanitation services at all. The report was published by the World Health Organisation and UNICEF, and it estimated that these gaps in sanitation will exist until 2025. This is a significant issue because basic sanitation is essential for preventing the spread of diseases, especially in healthcare settings where patients are most vulnerable to infection.
Written for “Global Health Facility Standards” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
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The report from the World Health Organisation and UNICEF for the first time provided global estimates of basic sanitation services in healthcare settings.
left emphasizes a lack of attention to this issue
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There was no sanitation service at more than one in 10 health facilities globally, serving 936 million people.
left frames the situation as dire and underserved
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The situation is particularly dire in poorer countries.
left emphasizes a negative impact on vulnerable populations
Leaning score -0.55 for article 1026 (medium confidence, 3 verified quotes) · logged 2026-08-25
Only 40% of world’s health facilities meet basic sanitation standards:
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% → meet → standards
UN
GENEVA - Only four in 10 healthcare facilities worldwide meet basic sanitation standards for accessible and usable toilets, the United Nations said on Aug 18, while 11 percent have no sanitation services at all.
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percent → meet → services
In a report, the UN’s health and children’s agencies said only 40 per cent of healthcare facilities in 2025 had toilets that adequately met the needs of patients and staff, including people with limited mobility.
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that → say → mobility
The report from the World Health Organisation and UNICEF for the first time provided global estimates of basic sanitation services in healthcare settings.
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report → provide → settings
Its 2025 estimate found significant gaps in access to basic sanitation standards, which it said required usable facilities including at least one toilet dedicated to staff, at least one sex-separated toilet with menstrual hygiene facilities and at least one toilet accessible for people with limited mobility.
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it → find → mobility
Relying on data from 70 countries, the report showed that sanitation levels in healthcare facilities varied widely between regions, with only 23 per cent of facilities in sub-Saharan Africa providing basic services, compared to 55 per cent in central and southern Asia.
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cent → rely → Asia
It found there was no sanitation service at more than one in 10 health facilities globally, serving 936 million people.
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It → find → people
In addition to sanitation, the report estimated access in healthcare facilities to water, hygiene, environmental cleaning and waste management.
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report → estimate → water
It found that an estimated 85 per cent of facilities in 2025 had basic water services, 72 per cent had basic hygiene services and 71 per cent basic healthcare waste management services.
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cent → find → services
Only 59 per cent of facilities meanwhile met basic so-called environmental cleaning standards, which require both cleaning protocols and trained cleaning staff and is core to infection prevention and control.
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which → meet → prevention
A full 18 per cent of facilities, serving around 1.5 billion people, met neither of the environmental cleaning requirements, said the report, which for this category relied on data from 54 countries.
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which → serve → countries
The environmental cleaning standard was met by just 24 per cent of facilities in the world’s least-developed nations.
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standard → meet → nations
