Access to WASH for Every Child

Every child must have access to water, san­it­a­tion and hygiene. 

The government of Eswatini (former Swasiland) has offi­cially launched the 2026 Chil­dren’s Month, pla­cing renewed emphasis on the urgent need to ensure uni­ver­sal access to water, san­it­a­tion and hygiene (WASH) ser­vices for every child in the coun­try.

The launch, held at the UN House, was offi­ci­ated on behalf of Deputy Prime Min­is­ter Thulisile Dladla by Prin­cipal Sec­ret­ary Sibon­iso Nkam­bule.

The event brought together gov­ern­ment offi­cials, devel­op­ment part­ners, civil soci­ety organ­isa­tions, edu­cat­ors and chil­dren rep­res­ent­at­ives under the theme: ‘Ensur­ing Uni­ver­sal Access to Water, San­it­a­tion and Hygiene for Every Child in Eswat­ini’. In the key­note address, Dladla described the annual observ­ance as both a cel­eb­ra­tion and a national call to action, stress­ing that chil­dren’s well­being remains cent­ral to the coun­trys devel­op­ment agenda.

She said the 2026 theme speaks dir­ectly to dig­nity, health and the future of chil­dren, not­ing that inad­equate WASH ser­vices con­tinue to under­mine pro­gress in edu­ca­tion and health out­comes.

“Without safe water, chil­dren are exposed to pre­vent­able dis­eases. Without adequate san­it­a­tion, girls in par­tic­u­lar face bar­ri­ers to edu­ca­tion and dig­nity. Without hygiene, the cycle of ill-health con­tin­ues,” she said. She fur­ther emphas­ised that the impact of WASH chal­lenges is often under­es­tim­ated, yet they shape daily real­it­ies for thou­sands of chil­dren. Dladla noted that long dis­tances to water sources res­ult in school absent­ee­ism, while poor san­it­a­tion facil­it­ies in schools con­trib­ute to dro­pout rates, espe­cially among adoles­cent girls dur­ing men­stru­ation. She reaf­firmed gov­ern­ment’s com­mit­ment to Sus­tain­able Devel­op­ment Goal 6, which seeks to ensure avail­ab­il­ity and sus­tain­able man­age­ment of water and san­it­a­tion for all. The DPM out­lined ongo­ing national inter­ven­tions aimed at clos­ing ser­vice gaps, par­tic­u­larly in rural and peri-urban com­munit­ies where vul­ner­ab­il­it­ies remain highest. Among key ini­ti­at­ives high­lighted were the expan­sion of rural water sup­ply infra­struc­ture, efforts to elim­in­ate open defec­a­tion through com­munity-led san­it­a­tion pro­grammes, and the strength­en­ing of the School WASH Pro­gramme.

Not­ing that the pro­gramme ensures that schools are equipped with func­tional water points, gender-segreg­ated san­it­a­tion facil­it­ies and hygiene edu­ca­tion inter­ven­tions.

She also repor­ted pro­gress in integ­rat­ing WASH stand­ards into health facil­it­ies to ensure that chil­dren receive care in safe and hygienic envir­on­ments. In addi­tion, part­ner­ships with devel­op­ment agen­cies have been instru­mental in mobil­ising tech­nical and fin­an­cial sup­port for WASH ser­vice deliv­ery across the coun­try. “Uni­ver­sal access means no child should be excluded whether in remote rural areas, informal set­tle­ments, or among vul­ner­able groups, includ­ing chil­dren with dis­ab­il­it­ies and orphans,” Dladla said. The DPM also urged par­ents and com­munity lead­ers to take an act­ive role in pro­mot­ing hygiene prac­tices at house­hold level, stress­ing that sus­tain­able change begins within fam­il­ies and com­munit­ies.

Address­ing chil­dren dir­ectly, Dladla reminded them of their rights to clean water, dig­nity and a healthy life, encour­aging them to become cham­pi­ons of good hygiene prac­tices within their schools and com­munit­ies.

Source: Eswatini Observer