{"id":46097,"date":"2026-08-21T07:59:59","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T07:59:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wajesha.org\/?p=46097"},"modified":"2026-08-21T07:59:59","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T07:59:59","slug":"patients-face-basic-sanitation-gaps-in-west-african-health-facilities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wajesha.org\/pt\/patients-face-basic-sanitation-gaps-in-west-african-health-facilities\/","title":{"rendered":"Patients face basic sanitation gaps in West African health facilities"},"content":{"rendered":"

A patient arriving at a hospital may expect clean water, a usable toilet and somewhere for health workers to wash their hands. But across parts of West Africa, many health facilities still fall short of these basic standards, according to a new assessment by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The gaps are particularly stark when it comes to sanitation. In Guinea-Bissau, only 7% of health care facilities met the basic sanitation standard in 2025. The figure was 11% in Burkina Faso, 12% in Mali and 16% in Ghana. Nigeria recorded 29%, while Senegal stood at 35%.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The findings are contained in Progress on Water, Sanitation, Hygiene, Environmental Cleaning and Waste Management in Health Care Facilities 2015\u20132025,<\/a><\/em> produced by the WHO\/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme. They reveal a problem that goes beyond whether a hospital or clinic simply has a toilet.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

To meet the basic sanitation standard, a health facility needs improved and usable toilets. There must be a toilet for staff, separate facilities for men and women with provision for menstrual hygiene, and a toilet that can be used by people with limited mobility.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The report says menstrual hygiene facilities and access for people with limited mobility were often among the factors preventing health facilities from meeting the standard.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

For patients, that can make something as ordinary as using a toilet while receiving medical care a question of privacy, accessibility and dignity.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Ghana below regional level<\/span><\/strong><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In Ghana, only 16% of its health facilities met the basic sanitation standard in 2025. That means roughly five in every six fell short of the full standard. The figure is also below the 23% recorded for sub-Saharan Africa and well below the 40% global level.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

But Ghana is not the lowest among the West African countries for which estimates are available.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Basic sanitation coverage was 7% in Guinea-Bissau, 11% in Burkina Faso and 12% in Mali. C\u00f4te d’Ivoire recorded 21%, while Nigeria and Senegal performed better at 29% and 35% respectively.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The differences are substantial, but even some of the better-performing countries remain far from universal coverage.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Some facilities still have no water<\/span><\/strong><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Sanitation is only part of the problem. The assessment also found health facilities operating without basic water services in several West African countries.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In Ghana, 65% of health facilities had basic water services in 2025, meaning water from an improved source was available on the premises. Senegal recorded 75%, while Sierra Leone stood at 64%.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

But the report identifies several West African countries where at least one in 10 health facilities had no water service. They include Liberia, Nigeria, C\u00f4te d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The situation was particularly severe in Guinea, where more than half of health facilities had no water service.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Water in a health facility is needed for handwashing, cleaning, sanitation and other routine infection-prevention measures.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

There are also gaps in something health workers and patients are routinely told is one of the simplest ways to prevent infection, washing their hands.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

WHO and UNICEF classify a health facility as having a basic hygiene service when functional hand-hygiene facilities are available at points of care, with water and soap available at toilets.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In Ghana, 54% of health facilities met that standard. But the report identifies Nigeria, Niger and C\u00f4te d’Ivoire among countries where at least one in 10 health facilities had no hygiene service, meaning hand-hygiene facilities were missing both at points of care and near toilets.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Across sub-Saharan Africa, only 34% of health facilities met the basic hygiene standard in 2025.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

What happens to medical waste?<\/span><\/strong><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Another problem begins after treatment has been given. Hospitals and clinics generate used needles, contaminated materials and other potentially infectious waste that must be separated, treated and disposed of safely.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Across sub-Saharan Africa, only 24% of health facilities met the basic waste-management standard in 2025.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Several West African countries appear among those with low coverage, including Niger, Nigeria, Guinea-Bissau, C\u00f4te d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Ghana. In Ghana, the figure was 27%, little more than one in four facilities.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The report also names Burkina Faso, Ghana, Niger and Nigeria among countries where more recent surveys produced lower estimates of waste-management coverage.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

WHO and UNICEF caution that this does not necessarily mean conditions have become worse. Better data collection may now be revealing gaps that previous monitoring systems did not fully capture.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Beyond the numbers<\/span><\/strong><\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The report does not provide a single figure for West Africa as a region, so the country estimates cannot simply be combined into a regional average. But taken together, they show how uneven the provision of basic services remains across health facilities in the region.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

A country may perform relatively well on water but poorly on sanitation. Another may have handwashing facilities in most hospitals but struggle with the safe disposal of medical waste.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

And behind each percentage is an everyday issue for people seeking or providing health care: Is there running water? Is there a usable toilet? Can a patient with limited mobility use it? Can a health worker wash their hands where care is being provided? And can a used needle be disposed of safely?<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Globally, 85% of health facilities had basic water services in 2025. But coverage fell to 72% for hygiene, 71% for waste management and just 40% for sanitation.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

For many West African health facilities captured in the WHO\/UNICEF assessment, the distance from those global levels remains substantial.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A patient arriving at a hospital may expect clean water, a usable toilet and somewhere for health workers to wash…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":46099,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82,130,7,83],"tags":[139,138,40],"class_list":["post-46097","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-environment","category-food-security","category-health","category-science","tag-unicef","tag-wash","tag-who"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t