Thank you for contacting me about water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in developing countries
Safe water and adequate sanitation are basic human needs. It is a regrettable fact that for so many on our planet these needs remain unmet, particularly in developing and conflict-affected states.
Improving access to WASH services, including in healthcare facilities, is a global health priority for the FCDO. It forms a core part of the UK's Ending Preventable Deaths of mothers, babies and children strategy, published in December 2021, and is critical to the FCDO's wider global health objectives.
The UK has taken action to promote safe water, sanitation and hygiene - or UN Sustainable Development Goal 6. Indeed, the UK to provide 60 million people with improved water and sanitation between 2015 and 2020, and exceeded this target in August 2020, helping 62.6 million people access clean water and sanitation, of which 26.2 million were based in fragile states.
To deliver on such an ambitious target, the UK developed substantial bilateral WASH programmes and entered into a £57.3 million partnership with UNICEF to provide sustainable WASH services to 3.8 million people in ten countries, through the Sanitation, Water and Hygiene for the Rural Poor programme (2017-2022). The UK is now strengthening the climate resilience of WASH services and reinforcing accountability for the delivery of WASH services.
Around the world, women and girls are disproportionately impacted by inadequate WASH access. One of the most direct impacts is the burden of collecting water, which women and girls spend 200 million hours doing each day globally. These journeys can also place them at increased risk of gender-based violence, as does a lack of private and secure sanitation.
Making women and girls central to its approach to international development is a priority for the UK. Indeed, gender considerations have been incorporated into the design of the UK's WASH programmes. In addition, the FCDO's Ending Preventable Deaths Action Paper sets out how it will address the barriers to protecting the lives of mothers, babies and children – in which improving WASH worldwide plays a central role.
I am encouraged by the leadership role the UK demonstrated in the first UN High-Level Conference on Water in 40 years, held in March 2023.The UK Government announced £18.5 million of funding to improve the quality of water supply, and sanitation and hygiene services in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Ministers also met with international partners and members of the private sector to discuss progress on ensuring water is a safe, sustainable and accessible resources globally. However, there is no doubt that urgent global action is needed to support Governments to strengthen and improve their water sanitation and hygiene services, and I can assure you that the UK is not complacent.
The UK is also continuing to promote the importance of WASH through our membership of the "WASH In Healthcare Facilities" international taskforce, through bilateral programming such as our innovative hand hygiene partnership with Unilever, and through core multilateral funding, including to the World Bank and the World Health Organisation. This includes funding to the WHO-UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme, which tracks progress against water and sanitation global targets and supporting the Global Water Partnership to promote climate resilient WASH.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
