Millions of Children Still Lack Safe Water, Toilets and Hand‑Washing Facilities at School

Between 2015 and 2025 the share of schools with basic drinking water rose from 67 % to 78 %, basic sanitation from 67 % to 77 % and basic hygiene from 59 % to 72 %. Despite these gains, at least 429 million children still lacked drinking water, about 460 million were without basic sanitation and more than 545 million missed reliable hand‑washing facilities. The absence of these services undermines health, learning outcomes and dignity, especially for girls, and signals that global progress is insufficient to meet the Sustainable Development Goal of universal school WASH by 2030.

Inequalities are stark. In low‑income countries only 54 % of schools provided basic drinking water, 50 % basic sanitation and 35 % basic hygiene in 2025. Sub‑Saharan Africa fared worse, with just 46 % of schools offering safe water, 43 % sanitation and 39 % hygiene. Consequently, around 250 million children in the region lacked drinking water at school, over 264 million missed sanitation and about 282 million were without proper hand‑washing facilities. By contrast, richer nations reported coverage exceeding 99 % for all three services.

The report warns that achieving universal access will require a four‑fold acceleration in the current rate of progress for drinking water and hygiene, and a five‑fold increase for sanitation over the next five years. UNICEF cautions that without such a surge, hundreds of millions of children will continue to attend schools without these essential services in 2030. Rapid investment, coordinated policy action and targeted programmes in the most vulnerable settings are essential to close the gap and safeguard children’s health, education and future prospects.