How do we achieve universal access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene by 2030?

Access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene are basic human rights and essential for public health and economic prosperity. Yet, progress towards SDG 6 is off-track. 2.2 billion people still lack access to safe drinking water, and half of the world’s population face severe water scarcity for at least part of the year (1). Additionally, 3.5 billion people lack access to safely managed sanitation while 419 million still practice open defecation. According to UNICEF, almost half of schools worldwide lack handwashing facilities with water and soap, affecting 802 million children (2). Such limitations lead to wider spread of serious diseases such as diarrhoea and pneumonia, the leading causes of death for young children under 5 around the world. Meeting SDG 6 targets by 2030 requires a 4x increase in pace of progress.

Reckitt has time and again reinstated its commitment towards SDG 6 by working tirelessly with local communities, social enterprises, government, NGOs and various charitable organizations around the world to improve access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene. Through Reckitt’s partnership with Water.org, over 2.4 million people now have access to clean water or sanitation in their homes. In 2024, school programmes, like the Dettol Hygiene Quest have brought high-quality hygiene education to 24.5 million children in more than 15 countries, reducing water-borne diseases and absenteeism.

Reckitt believes social entrepreneurship has a powerful role to play in solving the world’s greatest challenges. With a portfolio of over 60 entrepreneurs, Reckitt acts as a catalyst working with expert partners like Yunus Social Business and Health Innovation Exchange to scale pioneering solutions and build sustainable business models.

Reckitt is proud to have supported the Lead2030 SDG6 challenge since 2019, working with 11 WASH entrepreneurs to date. We want to build on this success in 2025, by supporting innovations that create measurable impact by enabling access to clean water, sanitation or hygiene, and are particularly interested in innovations with a focus on children or women/girls.

The focus of this challenge is not limited to providing equitable access to basic water, sanitation and hygiene facilities but to also creating a sustainable ecosystem that ensures, year after year, continuous development and increasing awareness.

Whilst Reckitt are interested to receive applications that target at a wide range of areas within WASH, there is a particular interest in hearing about innovations that do either of the following:

• Make innovative use of digital technology and AI to reach more people and enable access to water, sanitation, and hygiene on a wide scale
• Promote good hand hygiene practices and reduce water-borne diseases
• Help us tackle WASH related challenges in our value chain supporting Reckitt's Water positive agenda e.g. water recycling and reuse at factories