At a glance
- More than 3.5 billion people around the world live without safely managed sanitation.
- Safe sanitation is essential to a healthy and sustainable future for developing economies.
- We focus on accelerating innovation in non-sewered sanitation technologies to meet the diverse needs of communities around the world.
The latest updates on water, sanitation & hygiene
Our strategy
We seek to advance and increase access to sustainable, inclusive sanitation through the development and commercialization of transformative toilet technologies. Our core focus is on affordable, complete, and sustainable waste treatment solutions that eliminate pathogens, are energy efficient and off-grid, and are resilient to climate and water stresses.
Together with our partners, we have made great strides in this area since we launched the Reinvent the Toilet Challenge in 2011—an initiative to spur the creation of innovative toilet technologies that safely and effectively manage human waste. Our investments have resulted in more than 25 innovations that are available for licensing, production, and commercialization.
Toilets and the future of sanitation
If half of the world still needs a toilet and the other half needs a better one, what if new innovations could solve our sanitation challenges?
An exhibition called A Better Way to Go: Toilets and the Future of Sanitation at the Gates Foundation Discovery Center in Seattle, Washington, features technologies, interactive displays, and artworks that explore sanitation solutions that can help protect the health and dignity of everyone. If you’re ever in Seattle, you can see the exhibition for free on Wednesday through Saturday, 10am to 5pm.
