The WASH vision and mission
The attainment by all peoples of the lowest possible burden of water and sanitation-related disease through primary prevention, as guided by the 2018-2025 WASH Strategy..
- Providing leadership in Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene related issues (by making authoritative statements, influencing policy and coordinating networks of partners and collaborating centres)
- Normative work (mainly on water quality, but also on monitoring approaches and interventions, usually resulting in guidelines and best practice texts)
- Providing evidence (through various monitoring activities, but also through commissioned research)
- Supporting Member States (through technical cooperation and capacity building)
- Responding to emergencies (the role in the Health Cluster - WASH in healthcare - and in the WASH cluster - restoring safe water supplies and adequate sanitation)
- Knowledge management (through analysis, synthesis and dissemination of reliable and credible information)
Unit Head, Water, Sanitation, Hygiene and Health
Our Team
Our Team
Dr Sophie Boisson
Sanitation and WASH epidemiologist
Water Sanitation and Health
Ms Jennifer De France
Lead, Drinking-water safety
Water Sanitation and Health
Dr Fiona Gore
Lead, UN-Water Global Analysis & Assessment of Sanitation & Drinking-water
Water Sanitation and Health
Dr Richard, Paul Johnston
Lead, WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme
Water Sanitation and Health
Dr Batsirai Majuru
Drinking-water regulation and testing
Water Sanitation and Health
Ms Kate Medlicott
Lead, Sanitation
Water Sanitation and Health
Mr Francesco Mitis
WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme
Water Sanitation and Health
Dr Margaret Montgomery
Lead, WASH in health care facilities and settings
Water Sanitation and Health
Ms Marina Takane
UN-Water Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-water and WASH Accounts
Water Sanitation and Health
Latest publications
All →WHO water, sanitation, hygiene and waste strategy 2026-2035
Unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) still drive at least 1.4 million preventable deaths each year (1), while climate shocks, outbreaks, migration...
The GLAAS 2025 report, State of systems for drinking-water, sanitation and hygiene: global update 2025, and Key findings of the report were launched...
GLAAS 2025 report key findings
This summary presents the key findings from the UN-Water Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water (GLAAS) 2025 report, which features...
Throwing away our health: the impact of solid waste on human health – evidence, knowledge gaps, and health...
This document summarizes current knowledge on the links between solid waste and human health, focusing on municipal solid waste. It covers definitions...
Safe and reliable drinking-water supply depends on effective risk management, appropriate regulation and support, and well-informed technology selection....
Guidelines on hand hygiene in community settings
These Guidelines are concerned with the practice of hand hygiene to protect community health outcomes, in particular, the reduction of diarrhoeal...
Essential services for quality care: water, sanitation, hygiene, health care waste and electricity services...
This report provides the latest progress in ensuring universal access to water, sanitation, hygiene (WASH), waste and electricity services in health care...
WHO global water, sanitation and hygiene: annual report 2024
The WHO Results Report 2024–2025 indicates that global access to safely managed drinking-water services rose from 71.0% in 2018 to a projected 87.3%...