Statement – Safe water, sanitation and hygiene is a matter of survival, dignity and prosperity

Opening remarks by Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, at the seventh session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol on Water and Health

Budapest, Hungary | 5 November 2025

Excellencies, distinguished delegates,

It is a pleasure to address you here in Hungary, a country that holds a special place in the history of public health in Europe. This is the land of Ignaz Semmelweis, the "saviour of mothers". His groundbreaking realization that clean hands and hygienic conditions save lives laid the cornerstone for modern sanitation and infection prevention.

Semmelweis's insight echoes through every hospital ward and every community striving for safe water and hygiene. Indeed, it echoes through our own work, underscoring that true progress in health begins with cleanliness, care and respect for human life.

For 2 decades, the Protocol on Water and Health has supported our work towards equitable access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene for all. It is my pleasure to welcome you to this seventh session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol, and my heartfelt thanks to my friends Mr Sándor Pintér, Minister for the Interior, and Mr Csaba Lantos, Minister of Energy, for generously hosting us in beautiful Budapest.

As we celebrate the Protocol's 20th anniversary, we acknowledge remarkable progress, but also persistent challenges. Acute respiratory and diarrhoeal disease due to inadequate water, sanitation and hygiene claims 33 000 lives every year in the WHO European Region. These are preventable deaths, and this is where the Protocol comes in - a powerful tool for change. I'll give you 3 reasons.

The first is to ensure that safe water, sanitation and hygiene is available in health-care facilities. Hungary is notably putting this visibly on the agenda. I was honoured to join the discussions co-hosted by Hungary and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó during the United Nations General Assembly in September.

A staggering fact: today, 118 million people in the Region are served by facilities that lack basic sanitation. Without adequate water, sanitation and hygiene, health care becomes an inadvertent harm. Imagine a mother giving birth but the midwife is unable to clean the mother and the child after birth. Imagine an elderly man lying in a hospital bed, unable to go to the toilet because it is too far away.

The bottom line is that safe water, sanitation and hygiene must be integral to any investment in modern health care.

This is equally important for health professionals. As someone who has worked at the frontline of infectious disease control, I know how inadequate services and unsafe environments put health workers at risk.

The Protocol on Water and Health has enabled tangible progress. By using tools developed under the Protocol, we have supported in-depth assessments in more than 1500 facilities across 10 countries, leading to concrete improvements for tens of millions. We need to continue leveraging this framework and tools to sustain the momentum.

The second key function of the Protocol is to build resilience. Water, sanitation and hygiene systems are being tested as never before, calling for greater resilience to a range of stressors. Climate change is intensifying water scarcity and pollution, pushing fragile ecosystems - like the Aral Sea basin - to the brink.

Investing in resilient water, sanitation and hygiene systems means investing in our collective ability to withstand crises. The Protocol has driven the adoption of risk-based water safety planning, now used to address climate risks in more than 30 countries. By reducing vulnerabilities, these plans actively protect health and well-being. To drive further climate action, this year, WHO/Europe convened the Pan-European Commission on Climate and Health, whose findings and recommendations are due early next year.

The third important element of the Protocol is its power to nurture partnerships to reinforce shared commitment. Two years ago, we signed the Budapest Declaration on Environment and Health. Last week at the 75th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe, we adopted the second European Programme of Work. Both place strong emphasis on climate resilience, health security and future-proofing health systems.

Our activities under the Protocol are essential to realize these ambitions, but our success depends on our partnership.

I thank Hungary and Dr Márta Vargha for successfully chairing the Protocol over the past 3 years. I also thank Ms Tatiana Molcean and her team at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe for their excellent collaboration in the joint Protocol Secretariat. And, finally, let me thank my good friend, Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi, for our strong partnership in advancing this agenda.

Dear friends, safe water, sanitation and hygiene is not just a matter of comfort or convenience; it is a matter of survival, dignity and prosperity. As Kofi Annan eloquently put it, "We shall not defeat any of the infectious diseases that plague the developing world until we have also won the battle for safe drinking water, sanitation and basic health care."

Let us harness the Protocol to its fullest extent to meet our commitments for healthier future generations.

Thank you.