Around the world people are being treated in health care facilities that lack adequate water, sanitation, hygiene materials and the right waste segregation- essentials that make health care safe. In 2018 the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres issued a Global Call to Action on WASH in all health care facilities to address this problem.

UNICEF engages in activities to support diverse stakeholders at all levels (governments, international organizations, private sector and donors, civil society, health care sector) to work towards achieving the targets set for WASH in health care facilities. UNICEF hosts an online knowledge portal with relevant information, tools, approaches, achievements and learnings.

In April, the first Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) report on WASH in health care facilities was published. It introduces new service ladders for basic services and establishes national, regional, and global baseline estimates that contribute toward global monitoring of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets 6.1 and 6.2—universal access to WASH. Linked to this, WHO and UNICEF put together a companion document Practical Steps to Achieve Universal Access to Quality Care, a list of eight practical actions that can be taken at the national and subnational level to improve WASH in health care facilities.