Water, sanitation and hygiene: a wise investment

Can you imagine being treated at a hospital, knowing your doctor had no place to wash their hands after caring for the last patient?

Or sending your young daughter to school, knowing the only place for bathroom breaks was the forest? The further she went seeking privacy, the more vulnerable she’d be to attack.

Progress has been made in the past decade, but it’s sobering to think that in 2026, billions of people still go without access to safe, clean water, sanitation and hygiene services.

• One in four people worldwide has no access to safe drinking water.
• 3.4 billion people —nearly half global population—live life without safe toilets or latrines.
• Half of the world’s healthcare facilities have no handwashing amenities for patients and staff in the spaces where people are treated.

These numbers are stunning—especially when we know that investing in this area brings such compelling benefits for society. Effective water, sanitation and hygiene programs bring healthcare costs down, prevent premature deaths and allow people to live productive lives, contributing to their communities and economies.

Curious to learn more?

• See what happens when a community has no safe toilets—and what happens when that changes.
• Learn how support with menstrual hygiene keeps girls like Joie in school.
• Be encouraged by solar-powered water systems, a sustainable solution that has communities rejoicing.

WASH: A strong investment in children’s well-being

World Vision’s programs in water, sanitation and hygiene —together known as WASH—focus on protecting the health of children and their families. Through improvements to water sources, sanitation facilities and hygiene practices, our WASH programs help reduce exposure to deadly illnesses, free up time for learning and work, and help create safer, healthier environments.

Between 2019 and 2021, World Vision Canada funded 111 WASH projects across 29 countries, reaching more than 1.2 million people.

To better understand the Real Impact™ of this work, we commissioned an independent cost-benefit analysis by an external analytics firm. The study assessed both health and social outcomes, measuring cost-effectiveness and long-term benefits for children and communities.

The findings were compelling, and revealed:

• More than $14 in benefits were generated for every dollar invested in World Vision Canada’s WASH programming.
• More than US$337 million in total benefits were created across the projects.
• An estimated 4,901 lives were saved, including the lives of 4,220 children under age five.

Most of the benefits came from improved health, especially fewer cases of diarrhea and malnutrition-related stunting. The analysis also found that projects combining more than one WASH component, such as water, sanitation and hygiene together, brought the strongest value.

Overall, these results confirm that our WASH programming is a highly cost-effective use of Canadian funds, making a Real ImpactTM in the lives of children and families.

For a deeper look at the findings, please see the executive summary, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene: Cost-Benefit Analysis .

If you require access to an accessible version of this summary, please contact us at 1-866-595-5550.