Sanitary Inequality Is Deadly: Mortality from WASH Factors in Turkistan Region Is Five Times Higher Than the National Average

Access to clean water and basic hygiene remains an area of acute global social inequality. Despite international commitments, the world is demonstrating dangerous stagnation that results in millions of preventable deaths every year.

Globally, the situation reflects the failure of sustainable development strategies. More than 1.4 million people die annually due to WASH factors — the lack of safe water, adequate sanitation, and hygiene. The greatest burden falls on children under the age of five, for whom diarrhoeal infections remain a death sentence in conditions of limited access to clean water: around 1 thousand young children die every day worldwide. According to the JMP 2025 report, one in four people globally — or 2 billion individuals — still lacks access to safely managed drinking water services, while the pace of progress in the sanitation sector must accelerate at least fivefold to stop the current wave of mortality.

Against this backdrop, the situation in Kazakhstan appears less severe, although it remains far from satisfactory. Mortality linked to the lack of safe water, sanitation, and hygiene in the country remains unstable. In 2025, the indicator increased to 0.85 per 100 thousand people, compared to 0.75 a year earlier.

A critical situation emerged in Turkistan Region in 2025, where mortality related to WASH factors reached 4.09 — almost five times higher than the national average. This points to systemic infrastructure degradation in the southern regions, which remains unresolved despite the relatively favourable situation in Astana (0.13) and Almaty (0.3). High indicators were also recorded in Karaganda Region (1.32) and Shymkent (1.18). At the same time, the figures were several times lower in a number of other regions: 0.14 in Zhetysu Region and 0.12 both in Kyzylorda Region and Mangystau Region. Such disparities reflect unequal access to basic infrastructure and quality public services.

The situation of rural residents is particularly alarming, as in 2025 their risk of dying due to the lack of safe water, sanitation, and hygiene was 3.4 times higher than that of urban residents. While the gap between cities and rural areas was barely noticeable a decade ago, by the middle of the current decade rural areas had effectively turned into zones of sanitary exclusion, with a mortality rate of 1.55 per 100 thousand people, compared to 0.45 in urban areas. This points to the systemic lag in rural infrastructure development and limited access to safe water and sanitation.

Gender disparities are also becoming more pronounced. In 2025, mortality linked to WASH factors among men reached 0.95 per 100 thousand people, compared to 0.75 among women. At the same time, the female indicator remained relatively stable for a long period, whereas the male показатель demonstrated stronger growth and greater volatility.

At the same time, statistics point to the vulnerability of the older generation. Mortality linked to the lack of safe water, sanitation, and hygiene rises sharply with age. Last year, the indicator among Kazakhstan residents aged 60–64 reached 2.73 per 100 thousand people, increasing to 3.61 among those aged 65–69, 5.45 among those aged 70–74, and as high as 8.24 among people aged 75–79.

By comparison, the indicators among children and young people were close to zero. Infant mortality related to WASH factors also stands out separately: among children under the age of one, the figure reached 0.87 per 100 thousand people. This points to problems with basic living conditions already at the earliest stage of life.

As a result, despite relatively low national averages, Kazakhstan faces the same systemic problems as the rest of the world — unequal access to basic services, the vulnerability of certain population groups, and the absence of a sustained reduction in risks. The rise in mortality linked to the lack of safe water, sanitation, and hygiene in recent years shows that without comprehensive solutions, the situation may not only fail to improve, but could continue to deteriorate.