Global norms and capacity building: Household treatment and safe storage of water (HWTS)

Globally, nearly two billion people use either unimproved drinking-water sources or improved sources that are faecally-contaminated causing close to half a million diarrhoeal deaths in low- and middle-income countries. Household water treatment and safe storage (HWTS) is an important public health intervention to improve the quality of drinking-water and reduce diarrhoeal disease, particularly among those who rely on water from unimproved sources, and in some cases, unsafe or unreliable piped water supplies. Further, HWTS can be an effective emergency response intervention. The WHO International Scheme to Evaluate Household Water Treatment Technologies was established to evaluate the microbial performance of household water treatment (HWT) technologies against WHO health-based criteria. The results of the Scheme evaluation are intended to guide HWT product selection by Member States and procuring UN agencies.

Contributing Action Number

CA3.19

Primary Entry Point

3: Align UN system support for integration

Additional Entry Point(s)

4: Accelerate progress and transformational change

Output(s)

Output 3.2: Integrated policy frameworks to manage water and sanitation across sectors are supported by the UN system using latest data and evidence

Output 4.5: Governance of water and sanitation is improved through UN system support, including with emphasis on the needs of developing countries

SDG 6 Target(s)

SDG target 6.3: Improve water quality, wastewater and safe reuse

Type of Engagement

Normative support (e.g. development of normative guidance, guidelines and standards)

Geographical Scope

Global level

More Information

https://www.who.int/teams/environment-climate-change-and-health/water-sanitation-and-health/water-safety-and-quality/household-water-treatment-and-safe-storage

Leading Entity

World Health Organization (WHO)

United Nations System-wide Strategy for Water and Sanitation

The Contributing Actions are key initiatives supporting the United Nations System-wide Strategy for Water and Sanitation, aligning individual and joint efforts across UN entities and partnering organizations to advance global water and sanitation goals. These actions are integrated into the Collaborative Implementation Plan (CIP) Results Framework 2025-2028, which provides a structured approach to achieving system-wide impact through coordinated UN efforts.
The Priority Collaborative Actions outlined in the framework focus on enhancing water security, improving governance, strengthening climate resilience, and accelerating progress on sanitation and hygiene. By fostering system-wide collaboration among UN agencies, these actions help drive policy coherence, knowledge sharing, and innovative solutions to address the world’s most pressing water challenges.