A recent WHO‑UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme report released on September 28 highlighted that India has the largest number of children without sanitation services in schools, with 50 million children affected. This figure accounts for nearly one‑fifth of the 244 million children worldwide who lack such services in 2025, making India the country with the greatest shortfall.
The report also noted a 14 percent reduction in the number of Indian schools without sanitation during the assessment period. In addition to India, Nigeria accounted for 34 million, Ethiopia 26 million, the Democratic Republic of the Congo 11 million and Indonesia 8 million of the global total.
The Joint Monitoring Programme tracks progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals, specifically SDG 4, which calls for inclusive, quality education and safe learning environments, and SDG 6, which seeks universal access to safe water and sanitation. In 2025, 12 million Indian children lacked drinking‑water services at school, but India’s coverage improved by more than 4 percent annually and it is among 28 of 62 countries on track to reach universal basic drinking‑water coverage by 2030.
However, the report warns that the world is not on track to achieve universal basic WASH services in schools by 2030. To meet targets, progress on basic water, sanitation and hygiene would need to increase four‑, five‑ and four‑fold, respectively. Current trajectories predict that by 2030, 84 percent of schools will have basic water services, 81 percent basic sanitation and 79 percent basic hygiene, leaving 10 percent, 7 percent and 12 percent of schools without those services.
