Introduction

Imagine waking up every morning without access to basic hygiene essentials—no soap, toothpaste, or deodorant. Now imagine facing school, work, or social gatherings under these conditions. The silent crisis of hygiene poverty affects millions worldwide, yet it remains largely overlooked. More than just a lack of cleanliness, hygiene poverty strips people of dignity, isolates them from society, and severely impacts their mental health.

According to The Hygiene Bank’s 2024 Report, 68% of people experiencing hygiene poverty report feelings of anxiety or depression due to their circumstances. Individuals face embarrassment, social exclusion, and even workplace discrimination. This blog explores how hygiene poverty affects mental well-being, the stigma surrounding it, and what we can do to create change.

What is Hygiene Poverty?

Hygiene poverty refers to the inability to afford essential hygiene products, such as soap, toothpaste, deodorant, menproducts, and laundry detergent. It affects people living in financial hardship, forcing them to make impossible choices between food, rent, and personal care.

Unlike food insecurity, hygiene poverty receives far less attention. Organizations like The Hygiene Bank and Reckitt Global Hygiene Institute (RGHI) have emphasized that access to hygiene products is not a luxury—it is a basic human need. Yet, for millions, it remains out of reach.

Who Does It Affect?

Hygiene poverty is widespread and affects:

Low-income families struggling to afford daily essentials.

Students who miss school due to embarrassment over unwashed clothes or body odor.

Workers fear judgment at their jobs because they lack deodorant or clean clothes.

Homeless individuals who lack access to public hygiene facilities.

According to RGHI, inadequate hygiene can lead to bullying in schools, lower job opportunities, and social isolation—all of which worsen mental health.

The Psychological Toll of Hygiene Poverty

Beyond physical health concerns, hygiene poverty has a severe psychological impact on those who experience it.

1. Increased Anxiety and Depression

A study by The Hygiene Bank found that more than half of those affected by hygiene poverty report feelings of shame, embarrassment, and anxiety. Constantly worrying about body odor, unclean clothes, or bad breath leads to chronic stress and a deep sense of humiliation.

Experts from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) explain that poor hygiene is often misunderstood as laziness rather than a result of financial hardship. This judgment makes people feel unworthy, compounding mental health struggles.

2. Social Isolation and Low Self-Esteem

People experiencing hygiene poverty often withdraw from social activities out of fear of being judged. Students miss school, employees avoid work interactions, and individuals shy away from relationships.

A report from RGHI revealed that poor hygiene is a leading cause of social exclusion, with many affected individuals avoiding job interviews, school, and social events out of fear of embarrassment. Over time, this can lead to loneliness, low self-esteem, and severe depression.

3. Workplace and Educational Discrimination

Many jobs have hygiene-related expectations, making hygiene poverty a barrier to employment. In schools, students facing hygiene poverty are often bullied, leading to lower attendance rates and poor academic performance.

According to NAMI, society places unrealistic expectations on personal hygiene without considering financial barriers. This results in discrimination, reinforcing the mental health crisis among affected individuals.

Breaking the Stigma Around Hygiene Poverty

Despite its devastating effects, hygiene poverty remains heavily stigmatized. Society often blames individuals instead of recognizing the systemic issues that create this crisis.

To tackle hygiene poverty, we need to redefine the conversation:

Hygiene poverty is not a personal failure—it is a financial hardsfundamental Access to hygiene essentials should be considered a basic right, not a privilege.

 Schools, workplaces, and communities must offer support, not judgment, to those affected.

By raising awareness and advocating for change, we can ensure that no one has to suffer in silence.

Solutions and How You Can Help

1. Support Organizations Fighting Hygiene Poverty

Organizations like The Hygiene Bank and Reckitt Global Hygiene Institute provide hygiene kits and essential products to those in need. You can donate hygiene products (soap, toothpaste, deodorant, menstrual products), volunteer at local drives or fundraisers, and spread awareness about hygiene poverty on social media.

2. Advocate for Policy Change

Governments and institutions need to recognize hygiene products as essential resources. Advocate for free hygiene products in schools, shelters, and workplaces, government-funded hygiene programs for low-income communities, and corporate responsibility initiatives to provide hygiene support to employees.

3. Create Community-Based Support Systems

Schools can set up hygiene supply stations for students in need.

Workplaces can provide free hygiene kits in restrooms.

Communities can organize local donation drives to support struggling families.

By working together, we can ensure dignity and mental well-being for all.

Conclusion

Hygiene poverty is a hidden crisis with profound mental health consequences. It leads to anxiety, depression, social isolation, and discrimination, yet remains largely ignored in policy discussions.

No one should have to choose between food and personal hygiene. No one should feel ashamed of circumstances beyond their control. As individuals, communities, and policymakers, we must take action to fight hygiene poverty and protect the mental well-being of those affected.

How You Can Help Today:

 Donate hygiene products to a local charity

Support organizations fighting hygiene poverty

 Advocate for hygiene accessibility in schools and workplaces

Start a conversation and help break the stigma

Dignity should never be a luxury. It’s time we start treating hygiene as a basic human right.

Works Cited

Gunstone, Briony, et al. Hygiene Poverty 2022. YouGov plc, 2022, thehygienebank.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Hygiene_Poverty_2022_Full_Report.pdf.

 Prescott-Smith, Sarah, et al. Hygiene Poverty in 2024. YouGov plc, 2024, thehygienebank.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/The-Hygiene-Bank-Hygiene-Poverty-in-2024-Report-May-2024.pdf.

Nami, and Nami. “Hygiene Indifference: The Symptom We Don’t Talk About.” NAMI, 7 Feb. 2024, www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/February-2023/Hygiene-Indifference-The-Symptom-We-Don-t-Talk-About.

Bridging the Gap: Tackling Hygiene Poverty for Health and Dignity – Reckitt Global Hygiene Institute. 12 Feb. 2025, rghi.org/bridging-the-gap-tackling-hygiene-poverty-for-health-and-dignity.

Image Credits: https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/triple-threat-water-related-crises-endangering-lives-190-million-children-unicef (2023) 

Introduction 

Contrary to popular belief, many well-built and complex water distribution systems exist in the central and southern African regions. These systems provide millions of families with clean water for drinking and other daily activities. However, despite the construction of many water distribution systems in these regions, clean water accessibility still seems to be a big problem in many regions of Africa. 

In this essay, we will uncover why, despite the successful construction of water distribution systems throughout Africa, many communities in the central and southern African regions still lack accessibility to clean water. 

Why is there a lack of clean water sources within the Central and South African Regions? 

One main reason for the lack of accessibility to clean water in the developing regions of Central and South Africa is the aging, stressed, and poorly maintained water distribution systems that cannot keep up with the rapidly growing population. 

The water distribution systems currently in use within the central and southern regions of Africa transport clean water through complex networks of pipes to the general population. However, many of these pipes are poorly maintained, which results in damage, rusting, and corrosion, causing the drinking water within the pipes to fall below acceptable levels and pose severe health risks. Sometimes, these pipes are not well made, leading to low pipeline water pressure, which prevents clean water from traveling through the pipes and supplying communities in need of water. (1) 

Furthermore, many of these water distribution systems, although complex, are extremely strained (1). For example, a single pipe could transport clean water to a community of 30 to 100 individuals. If a single pipe is blocked or broken, an entire community could lose access to clean water. 

It is also crucial to note that some rural communities in Africa are not even connected to water distribution systems, and have no access to clean water at all. This is due to the cost and terrain surrounding these rural communities that hinders the construction of pipes that would help to connect these rural communities to a clean water reserve. 

Another primary factor that contributes to the lack of accessibility to clean water would be the failure to conduct regular disinfections of large water reserves meant to supply clean water to the different communities throughout Africa via pipelines. (1)  This results in contaminated water being supplied that cannot be used by the people. 

What does a lack of clean water mean for the people living in central and south Africa? 

Without a clean water source, many communities throughout Africa have to make do with water that has been contaminated to a certain extent, picking out the least polluted source of water to use. This has resulted in cases of water transmissible diseases to skyrocket, infecting whole communities and causing massive death tolls. 

Some examples of water transmissible diseases that have resulted in a high number of fatalities over the years due to the lack of clean water include cholera and invasive salmonella disease. 

The lack of clean water also prevents people living within the region from upholding a standard of hygiene, making them more susceptible to disease and disorders. Even simple tasks that help to maintain personal hygiene, such as the brushing of teeth and showering, require a source of clean water that they do not have access to. 

Moreover, sustaining injuries that leave gaping wounds may be life-threatening for the people living in the region as the lack of clean water means that these wounds cannot be washed, coupled with the lack of accessibility to healthcare services in many regions of Africa means that bacterial and other parasitic infections have a higher chance of occurring.

How did the Industrial Revolution affect the accessibility to clean water sources in the Central and Southern regions of Africa? 

The industrial age has greatly limited the natural bodies of clean, drinkable water, such as mountain streams and rivers, through severe contamination. It has also made the treatment of water much more difficult and expensive. This is primarily due to the activities carried out during the Industrial Age, such as mining and improper disposal of waste products from factories. 

For example, in the case of mining, when mining for minerals such as gold, silver, and copper, it exposes the surrounding rock ore that contains sulfites to water and air, leading to the formation of several harmful products, such as sulphuric acid. If uncontrolled, water drainage from these mines may runoff into streams and rivers, or leach into underground water reserves. (2) Toxic heavy metals from mines may also run into rivers and streams, severely polluting the water and making it unusable for several decades.

During this industrial era, many large multinational corporations such as Shell have also been responsible for dumping toxic waste into natural water bodies, limiting the accessibility of clean water bodies that the people living in the region can use for their daily needs. This has resulted in pictures of children living in communities located in South Africa bathing in black oil being surfaced online, sparking widespread media outrage and protests worldwide. This leads us to the question, what have we done, and what can we do to raise awareness and provide the communities in south and central Africa greater accessibility to clean water? 

What have we done, and what can we do about it? 

Over the years, the UN has monitored the global accessibility of people living worldwide to safe and clean water sources as part of their sustainable goals. Despite that, their statistics consistently fail to accurately account for the number of people worldwide with a lack of access to a clean water supply. Worse still, the measures taken by the UN are mostly generalized across the entire globe and do not delve into the specific needs of each community across different countries. (3) 

Therefore, we need to unite our voices and actions to drive change. We can raise awareness and drive change through unity and collaboration by carrying out peaceful protests, hosting fundraisers, conducting donation drives, and sharing sessions focused on water inaccessibility in some areas of the world.

Bibliography 

Cecilia Tortajada, Asit K. Biwas (2018) 

“Achieving Universal access to clean water and sanitation in an era of water scarcity: strengthening contributions from academia” Referenced from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2018.08.001

Ellen J. Kellogg J. Schwab 

“Deficiencies in drinking water distribution systems in developing countries” 

J Water Health (2005) 3 (2): 109–127. Referenced from: https://doi.org/10.2166/wh.2005.0012

Minnaar A. (2020) “Water pollution and contamination from gold mines, Acid mine drainage in Gauteng Province, South Africa.”

In: Eman, K., Meško, G., Segato, L., Migliorini, M. (eds) Water, Governance, and Crime Issues. Springer, Cham. Referenced from: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44798-4_12

Access to clean drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) is a basic human right, yet half of the world’s population still lacks adequate access to these necessities. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and an article published in *The Lancet*, inadequate WASH contributed to at least 1.4 million deaths and 74 million disability-adjusted life years in 2019. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) estimates from the same year link inadequate WASH to 1.6 million deaths annually due to conditions such as diarrhea, acute respiratory infections, malnutrition, and malaria caused by water mismanagement.  

Diarrheal diseases alone claim 850,000 lives each year, including 300,000 children under the age of five. To put this into perspective, the number of children who die annually from diarrhea would form a continuous line from London to Cardiff. These deaths are not just statistics; they represent personal tragedies that could have been prevented with proper access to clean water and sanitation.  

Despite the United Nations General Assembly declaring access to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation a human right in 2010, billions of people still struggle to obtain these necessities. The Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) by WHO and UNICEF reported in 2019 that two billion people lack safe, readily available water at home, while 4.5 billion lack access to safely managed sanitation services. In sub-Saharan Africa, 400 million people rely on surface water or water sources that require over 30 minutes to collect.  

The Link Between Hygiene and Social Inequality  

The lack of access to proper sanitation is not just a public health issue but also a social and economic crisis. Poor hygiene habits often develop in childhood due to insufficient education and resources. A study conducted through a validated questionnaire compared the hygiene habits of 51 children in reception centers with 454 children in regular households. The results revealed that children in reception centers had significantly poorer hygiene practices, largely due to the social inequalities their families faced. These children were more likely to experience social rejection and were less likely to see their families as positive role models for hygiene practices.  

This highlights an alarming reality: many families are not equipped to instill proper hygiene habits in their children. This not only affects personal health but also creates a ripple effect that impacts academic performance and social inclusion. Children with poor hygiene are more likely to experience bullying and social exclusion, which can lead to lower self-esteem, reduced educational opportunities, and long-term economic disadvantages.  

### The Economic and Healthcare Burden  

For low-income families, inadequate sanitation and poor healthcare facilities contribute significantly to rising disease rates. The financial burden of treating preventable illnesses places additional strain on already struggling households, trapping them in a cycle of poverty. A lack of proper sanitation infrastructure increases healthcare costs, reduces productivity, and hinders economic development in affected regions.  

A Call to Action  

The continued global struggle for basic sanitation rights raises important questions: Why are governments failing to ensure access to clean water and hygiene despite constitutional guarantees? Why is the responsibility for maintaining basic hygiene left to individuals rather than being addressed through systemic change?  

To solve this crisis, there must be a global commitment to improving WASH infrastructure, particularly in underserved regions. Governments must prioritize investments in sanitation and hygiene education. Schools, communities, and healthcare systems should work together to promote hygiene awareness from an early age. Additionally, international organizations must hold policymakers accountable for implementing sustainable water and sanitation solutions.  

Addressing the global sanitation crisis is not just about preventing disease; it is about ensuring dignity, equality, and human rights for all. The failure to provide these necessities is a failure of society as a whole—one that must be urgently corrected.