Meeting report on water, sanitation and hygiene in health-care facilities in the WHO European Region: Budapest, Hungary, 2–4 July 2025

Overview

Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services, including waste management and environmental cleaning, are fundamental to quality care, infection prevention and control, the mitigation of antimicrobial resistance and health-system resilience. Recognizing their centrality to universal health coverage, the WHO Regional Office for Europe, together with Hungary’s Ministry of Interior and its National Centre for Public Health and Pharmacy, convened a regional meeting on WASH in health-care facilities in Budapest, Hungary, on 2–4 July 2025. The meeting brought together policy-makers and experts to share experiences, strengthen leadership and identify actions to advance WASH implementation across the WHO European Region. Discussions focused on translating international commitments into national action, improving monitoring and indicators, integrating WASH within health programmes and promoting enabling environments for sustainable services. Participants reaffirmed regional commitment to improving quality of care through strengthened WASH systems and identified priority actions in the areas of assessment, target-setting, standards, infrastructure, monitoring, workforce development and community engagement.