Despite progress in some areas, many challenges remain in achieving universal access to safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene in Africa. For example, in 2020, an estimated 570 million people in Africa still lacked access to basic drinking water services, and 700 million lacked access to basic sanitation services.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) for public health and disease prevention. However, the pandemic has also disrupted WASH services and exacerbated existing inequalities and vulnerabilities, particularly for marginalized communities and vulnerable groups.

Addressing the challenges of WASH in Africa requires a range of actions, including improving infrastructure and service delivery, promoting behavior change and hygiene education, strengthening governance and financing mechanisms, and addressing social and environmental dimensions of WASH, such as gender equality, climate change, and sustainability. The report highlights the need for increased political will, investment, and collaboration to achieve the SDG targets for WASH in Africa.