Human resources.

 

Human resources are essential to WASH systems to ensure services are delivered, especially in rural and hard to-reach settings. This section focuses on WASH human resources, including expressed needs, women in the workforce, challenges, actions being taken to address gaps, and protecting the rights and safety of workers. 

GLAAS 2024/2025 country survey data suggest that insufficient human resources are a significant constraint to WASH service delivery. Less than a third of countries reported having sufficient human resources fordrinking-water (26%, 25 of 95), sanitation (15%, 14 of 95) or hand hygiene (18%, 17 of 92). Yet only a third of countries (32 of 98) conduct a national human resources needs assessment to capture a detailed account of the human resources landscape for WASH. Of those countries, more countries (53%, 17 of 32) conduct assessments on an ad hoc basis, followed by 31% (10 of 32) conducting annual assessments. Seventy-five per cent of countries (24 of 32) conducting national assessments have used the results to inform national plans and strategies. When it comes to specific functions, such as regulation and operations and maintenance (O&M), few countries have sufficient human resources to carry them out (Fig. 5.1), especially for sanitation.

As access to water and sanitation affects everyone, it is important to understand how women are involved in the WASH workforce. Forty per cent of countries (37 of 93) reported women hold at least 40% of government WASH positions. However, only 24% of countries (22 of 92) reported women hold at least 40% of leadership positions. In low-income countries, only 11% of countries (2 of 19) reported at least 40% of all WASH positions in government are held by women as compared to 66% of upper-middle-income countries (19 of 29) (Fig. 5.2). 

Through the GLAAS 2024/2025 country survey, countries identified challenges facing WASH human resources. Over a third of countries indicated skilled workers do not want to live and work in rural areas. Insufficient resources available to pay for staff was also reported as a main constraint to WASH human resources (Fig. 5.3). Eleven per cent of countries indicated that a constraint for sanitation is the stigma associated with working in the WASH sector.

 

Another key challenge is maintaining and increasing the supply of human resources. Over 70% of countries have technical and vocational training centres (72%, 71 of 99) and universities (78%, 76 of 98) that provide education related to or specific to WASH. However, institutions are not able to supply enough trained professionals to meet WASH human resources needs. In fact, fewer than 20% of countries reported training institutions are able to supply enough (95–100%) trained professionals to meet the needs in any sub-sector (Fig. 5.4).

Reaching the ambitious targets under SDG 6 and expanding WASH coverage will require significant growth of the WASH workforce to meet demands, especially in rural areas that need to attract a skilled WASH workforce. Some countries are acting to address the needs and challenges in retaining and maintaining human resources for WASH.

 

A key component to maintaining and growing the WASH workforce is attracting skilled workers to the sector. Only 26% of countries (26 of 99) reported having marketing strategies to attract people to the WASH workforce. Of the countries using a marketing strategy, 58% (15 of 26) reported that those strategies specifically target women for the WASH workforce (Fig. 5.5)

Examples of marketing strategies are given below. 

• Congo has developed a programme for young professionals in water and sanitation to attract young people to the sector. 

• Fiji has advocacy programmes on live television and radio, advertises success stories and has attractive salary packages. 

• Madagascar has organized a Water Fair, which includes sanitation and hygiene, as well as developing collaborative professional training for water professions.

 • Sri Lanka; To attract more qualified chemists, geologists, sociologists and technical staff, Sri Lanka’s National Agency for Water Supply and Sewerage ensures it pays higher salaries than the private sector. 

• Thailand has scholarships for specific fields or disciplines that are in high demand by government agencies and runs career pathway campaigns to show students career trajectories and where there are opportunities to advance, which attracts candidates to specific positions. Examples of how countries are targeting women in their marketing strategies include the following. 

• Mexico has public and open competitions through gender calls aimed at women.

• In Nigeria, there are sensitization activities in schools for women to encourage them to join the WASH sector. 

• Qatar’s marketing strategies that specifically target women for the WASH workforce often focus on gender-inclusive messaging and initiatives that highlight the vital role women play in WASH. These strategies include showcasing female role models in WASH careers, emphasizing the importance of gender diversity and addressing cultural or social barriers that may discourage women from entering the field. Additionally, campaigns highlight the positive impact of women’s involvement in WASH on community well-being and empowerment, encouraging their participation through grants and career advancement support. 

• Zambia has internship programmes that target technical and vocational training centres with marketing strategies targeting female trainees with awards for best performance. Additionally, to address gaps in the number of trained professionals entering the WASH workforce, nearly 40% of countries (37 of 95) reported having a national-level collaboration framework with vocational and higher education institutions to attract professionals. 

Countries noted that these frameworks include activities such as research agreements, specialized training programmes, curricula reviews, continued education programmes and internship or trainee programmes between the educational institutions and the government, regulators and/or major service providers. 

Countries indicated that while most do not have measures in place to protect the safety of workers, some are setting a good example by protecting worker rights. Over 70% of countries reported having measures to protect workers’ freedom of association, while just over half have minimum requirements for employer–employee relations such as the provision of health insurance, vaccinations, contractual stability and/or minimum wage. However, less than half of countries have measures in place to formalize employment for workers (Fig. 5.6).

 

In terms of worker safety, just over half of countries have operational guidelines for worker health andsafety. However, when it comes to sufficient equipment, less than a third of countries have measures fully in place to ensure these safety requirements, which is particularly concerning for sanitation workers (Fig. 5.7).