There has been substantial progress in improving water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) access globally. However, many communities continue to face barriers in accessing WASH services, leading to adverse health and safety outcomes, negative impacts on livelihoods, and reduced social and economic development. While much of WASH equity discourse centers on low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), marginalized populations in high-income countries (HICs), including racial and ethnic minorities, people experiencing homelessness, rural communities, and Indigenous groups, still lack consistent, affordable, and safely managed WASH services despite near-universal coverage. Achieving equitable WASH access globally creates opportunities for bidirectional learning and cooperation across geographies and disciplines.

This session explicitly welcomes contributions from both HIC and LMIC contexts, as well as work that compares or connects them. We also invite submissions from a wide range of disciplines, including engineering, public health, epidemiology, economics, law and policy, anthropology, sociology, geography, urban planning, and data science. We especially encourage research grounded in community-engaged and participatory methods, and collaborative frameworks that center lived experience. Through these discussions, we hope to pave the way toward an equitable WASH future for all.