Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

Overview

Growing up in a clean and safe environment is every child’s right. Providing children with clean drinking water and adequate toilets and instilling in them the need to wash their hands with soap and water have been one of the most effective ways of saving the lives of children in Cambodia and helping them develop into healthy adults.

Open defecation in rural areas has decreased 93 per cent over the past two decades. It is estimated to be at 4 per cent nationwide.¹
4 in 5 people (86 per cent) in rural areas have access to basic hygiene services, meaning the household has a facility at home where they can wash their hands with soap and water.²
Fewer children now suffer from diarrhea-related illnesses and the country has reduced under-5 mortality by 87 per cent over the past 20 years.³

Challenges

Despite progress in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) access in Cambodia, considerable disparities remain, particularly in rural areas and marginalized communities. Many communities still rely on rivers, wells and ponds, water systems which are contaminated by pollutants. Diarrhea, which often results from poor sanitation and hygiene, is still a major cause of children’s illnesses, including stunting and impaired brain development. Some communities still practice open defecation, and many adolescent girls and children with disabilities miss out on crucial time in the classroom because of inadequate inclusive toilet facilities at school.

Without urgent action, climate change threatens to jeopardise the futures of millions of children in Cambodia. Decades of progress made in child survival may be reversed if safe drinking water and sanitation become increasingly scarce. While more families are able to access at least basic services, progress has been slow, and without ensuring that services are safely managed and climate-resilient, most of these gains may be lost during extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and heatwaves, which are intensifying because of climate change.

The global Children’s Climate Risk Index (CCRI) 2021 ranks Cambodia 46th out of 163 countries, placing it in the top third of nations where children are facing the highest risks from climate change, while Cambodia’s low standing on the Notre Dame-Global Adaptation Index signals it is poorly prepared for extreme weather and environmental degradation.

Nearly 2 million children, more than one third of the children in the country, are living in communes with a high or very high children’s climate risk index. The majority of these communes are in rural areas.⁴
1.4 million children are highly exposed to drought, 3 million children are highly exposed to heat, vector-borne diseases, and high wind speeds, 2.2 million children are highly exposed to riverine floods, and 2.7 million children are highly exposed to air pollution with PM2.5 exceeding WHO target of 15 micrograms per cubic meter⁵.
22 per cent of the population in rural areas have no access to at least basic drinking water services.⁶

Solutions

UNICEF Cambodia’s WASH, Climate and Environment Programme for 2024–2028 works towards achieving children’s right to climate-resilient water, sanitation and hygiene, as enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) target to achieve universal access to safely managed drinking water, sanitation and hygiene by 2030.

UNICEF works together with the Royal Government of Cambodia and other partners to improve access to water, sanitation and hygiene for under-served children and their communities, who are often poor, geographically or socially marginalized, and live in areas most at risk to the devastating impacts of climate change. We focus on climate-resilient services that ensure communities are better prepared for the future, create lasting impact that protects the most vulnerable, and contribute to the nation’s sustainable development.

We believe that efforts to sustain a liveable planet must not only account for the unique needs and vulnerabilities of young people, but that they must also be included in the solutions. Children and young people have critical skills, experiences and ideas for safer, more sustainable societies.

Boost access to safe, climate-smart water, sanitation and hygiene

We work to bring improved sanitation and hygiene facilities to homes, schools and healthcare facilities, so that children can live, study and access health services in a safer environment–––––. Upgrading water sources and developing new sources that are resilient to hazards such as droughts and floods are crucial to ensuring the most vulnerable are protected through the climate crisis. We do this by engaging with private sector and local authorities to improve the quality of services and to generate sustainable business solutions, including through adopting renewable energy systems and improving the efficiency of water and sanitation approaches. To support the shift towards safely managed sanitation and help mitigate the health and environmental risks of open defecation, we promote nature-based solutions for fecal sludge management aligned to the principles of reduce, reuse and recycle.

Help people understand the value of using toilets, clean water and soap

Generating awareness is also a large part of UNICEF’s work to achieve a clean, safe environment for children to thrive, as these solutions are only effective if people understand the importance of using toilets, clean water and soap at home, schools, and healthcare facilities and in the community. We also use social and behaviour change strategies to increase the demand for improved climate-resilient services, so communities understand climate risks and protect themselves and their families now and in the future.

Improve WASH financing and coordination

Together with the Government and other partners, we work to better understand WASH financing gaps and define strategic actions to support the sector in mobilizing the required resources to reach Cambodia SDG 6.1 and 6.2 targets. We gather evidence by collecting and analyzing data to inform how we should implement programmes, we explore innovative WASH financing solutions, partnerships and approaches, and we make communities more resilient to climate shocks by analyzing the risk of disaster and developing WASH-specific preparedness plans.

_{Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP), 2025}
_{JMP, 2025}
_{HYPERLINK "https://www.nis.gov.kh/nis/CDHS/2021-22/Cambodia_DHS2021-2022_Final_Report_EN.pdf" Cambodia Demographic and Health Survey (CDHS), 2021–2022}
_{Children’s Climate Risk Index for Cambodia (CCRI), 2024}
_{Children’s Climate Risk Index for Cambodia (CCRI), 2024}
_{JMP, 2025}
_{JMP, 2025}
_{JMP, 2024}
_{National assessment of water, sanitation and hygiene in public healthcare facilities in Cambodia, 2024}