WASH: Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

Access to safe and clean water and sanitation is vital to human health and well-being. It is a key component in breaking the vicious circle of poverty, and preserving our ecosystem while creating sustainable and resilient societies for the future. Through partnerships and projects, IVL works with water governance to secure universal access to water and sanitation services.

WASH stand for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene. The IVL WASH team was previously part of SIWI (Stockholm International Water Institute), and has been incorporated into IVL's international work since 2025.

According to UNICEF figures, more than two billion people worldwide lack safely managed drinking water, and twice as many lack safely managed sanitation. Over 600 million people practice open defecation. Two in five healthcare facilities worldwide have no soap and water, or access to hand sanitizers. And people living in fragile contexts were half as likely as those living in non-fragile contexts to have safely managed drinking water and safely managed sanitation services.

Clean water and sanitation for all

Water and sanitation services must reach everyone, including the poor, vulnerable and marginalized, consistent with the promise to leave no-one behind. While it may sound like straightforward advice, the reality is that achieving universal access to water and sanitation is a daunting challenge in many societies. Climate change makes meeting the target of clean water and sanitation for everyone even more difficult. Countries cannot achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6 by primarily focusing on improving water and sanitation at the household level, while neglecting schools, healthcare facilities and public spaces. This makes water governance, with regards to water and sanitation, one of the most important and urgent development issues.

IVL works with water governance through partnerships and projects, many with global reach, to secure universal access to water and sanitation services.