Author: Anna Giné
Date: September 30, 2025
Numerous diseases are directly or indirectly associated with inadequate access to clean water, safe sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), making this component critical for the prevention and control of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). From a public health perspective, ensuring universal access to WASH services not only reduces the incidence of infectious diseases but also eases the burden on health systems, constituting a cost-effective primary prevention strategy.
From a social justice standpoint, the absence of WASH services reflects historical, territorial, and socioeconomic inequalities that force the poorest populations to endure disproportionately higher morbidity and mortality from preventable causes. Climate change and environmental degradation further exacerbate this scenario, compromising water security and disproportionately affecting vulnerable communities.
Recent WHO estimates indicate that the global mortality rate attributable to inadequate WASH is 18.3 deaths per 100,000 population, with the highest rate in the African Region at 46.7 per 100,000. These figures underscore the magnitude of the problem and the urgency of addressing it as a global health priority through an equity-focused approach. Without sustained investments, inclusive policies, and community participation, health responses remain reactive, failing to confront the social determinants of disease or to reduce inequities.
In this context, universal access to WASH must be understood not only as a technical intervention in public health but also as a human right, a cornerstone of global NTD strategies, and a fundamental imperative of social justice.
World health statistics 2025: monitoring health for the SDGs, Sustainable Development Goals. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2025. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.