Indicators

Hygiene has long-established links with public health, and the explicit reference to hygiene in the text of SDG target 6.2 represents increasing recognition of the importance of hygiene and its close links with sanitation. Hygiene is multi-faceted and can comprise many behaviours, including handwashing, menstrual hygiene and food hygiene. International consultations among WASH sector professionals identified handwashing with soap and water as a top priority in all settings, and also as a suitable indicator for national and global monitoring.

The percentage of population living in households that have a handwashing facility with soap and water at home. Handwashing facilities can consist of a sink with tap water, but can also include other devices that contain, transport or regulate the flow of water. Buckets with taps, tippy-taps and portable basins are all examples of handwashing facilities. Bar soap, liquid soap, powder detergent and soapy water all count as soap for monitoring purposes.

Location (urban/rural), Socioeconomic status (wealth quintiles)

Household surveys routinely collect information on the availability of handwashing facilities in the home. In most cases, the enumerator asks to see the place where members of the household most often wash their hands. The enumerator then observes if water and soap are available at that place. Household-level responses, weighted by household size, are used to compute population coverage.

Outcome

The JMP assembles, reviews and assesses national data collected by statistics offices and other relevant institutions including sectoral authorities. Linear regression is used to provide estimates of the population with handwashing facilities at home, as well as the proportion with handwashing facilities where soap and water were observed. Separate estimates are made for urban and rural areas, and national estimates are generated as weighted averages of the two, using population data from the most recent report of the United Nations Population Division. The most recent household survey or census available for most countries was typically conducted two to six years ago. The JMP extrapolates regressions for two years beyond the last available data point. Beyond this point the estimates remain unchanged for up to four years unless coverage is below 0.5 per cent or above 99.5 per cent, in which case the line is extended indefinitely. For more information see https://washdata.org/monitoring/methods/estimation-methods Predominant type of statistics: adjusted and predicted

Regional and global estimates are weighted averages of the country data, using the population for the reference year as the weight. No estimates are reported if less than 50 per cent of the population in the region or world are covered.

N/A

Biennial (Two years)