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As Global Water 2020 sunsets, we are pleased to share a wide selection of materials we have aggregated and generated, with the hope you will find these helpful as you keep up the momentum and continue your important WASH in HCF work.  Please make use of these assets and share them widely! With thanks on behalf of the Global Water 2020 team.

This updated two page flier, jointly produced by WHO, UNICEF and WaterAid, details the latest burden from poor WASH and IPC in health care, the role WASH and IPC serve in preventing AMR and the benefits of joint action and investments. It also provides examples of effective, collaborative action at the global, national and facility level. It allows anyone working in these fields to speak confidently about the current core issues, as well as solutions and will ultimately drive quality of care given how critical WASH and IPC measures are for AMR reduction and overall patient safety.

This document marks one year from the June 19 2019 commitments meeting held in Washington D.C. and highlights some of the progress made over the year, featuring 31 organizations (the "Trailblazers") who continue to be committed to improving WASH in health care facilities.

Government of Eritrea and the United Nations Children’s Fund analyzed bottlenecks hindering the delivery of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services in Eritrea. The results identified the major bottlenecks for WASH in institutions to be (i). Lack of policy and legal framework that includes provisions for operational sustainability; (ii). Lack of a well-functioning coordinating body; (iii) Unsupportive conditions (lack of an enabling environment) for the application of service delivery models; (iv) Insufficient funding that arises from weak institutional and individual capacities to create a successful mechanism to raise funds and diversify sources of funding; (v) Lack of a well-established monitoring feedback system to improve decision-making at different levels; and (vi) Weak institutional, individual and financial capacities to develop a human resources strategy. The main underlying causes of the major bottlenecks for WASH in institutions are limited human, financial, institutional and organizational capacities of institutions, and low levels of commitment of policy- and decision-makers. The report cited that the total financing gap to implement the recommended activities to remove the bottlenecks to service delivery in WASH in institutions is about USD 3.73 million.

Global Framework for Urban Water, Sanitation and Hygiene has been developed in recognition that Urban WASH is an emerging area of focus in Global UNICEF Strategy for WASH 2016-2030. The Framework creates a common vision for UNICEF’s approach to Urban WASH programming. It is expected to support country, regional and global WASH teams to have a clear and shared sense of direction and common purpose in efforts to secure engagement in supporting the most marginalized urban children and their families with WASH services. This framework is designed to offer opportunities for partnerships and an alignment of approaches for addressing WASH challenges in urban areas including WASH in healthcare facilities. Thus, the document is useful for advocacy and raising awareness of UNICEF’s priorities and plans for urban WASH interventions while supporting engagement with external partners to move forward the global urban WASH agenda collectively. The framework mentions the assessment of WASH service delivery in urban healthcare facilities and public institutions (markets, public transport hubs/motor parks etc.) to be among the potential entry points and priority activities by programme thematic area, for service-level support, for engaging in urban WASH. It would equally serve as a basis for evidence generation.

The Government of Eritrea, with support from UNICEF, has developed the 2019–2030 OneWASH Strategy and Investment Plan to achieve universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation. The plan’s strategic objectives reflect key Sustainable Development Goal 6 targets in which WASH in health centers is one of them. A total budget of US$674,357,0006 is required to implement OneWASH. Out of this, 55,643,000 USD will be required for establishing WASH services in institutions.

This toolkit will walk through the steps taken to develop an advocacy strategy for WASH in health care facilities.

Example twitter messages for anyone to use during World Antibiotic Awareness Week and on World Toilet Day - join us to make sure we speak in one voice about committing to and improving water, sanitation and hygiene in health care facilities

Every year, 15 million babies are born prematurely – more than one in ten of all babies around the world. Nearly all these deaths can be prevented by providing the right care, at the right time, in the right place. This flyer highlights the importance of basic Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services in ensuring the right place for quality service delivery to save newborn lives. ”Every birth should be supported by a safe pair of hands, washed with soap and water, using sterile equipment, in a clean environment“……by Henrietta H. Fore, UNICEF Executive Director

In 2019, a World Health Assembly Resolution on WASH in health care facilities, agreed to by 194 member states, outlined concrete actions that countries can commit to. These include establishing national roadmaps and targets, implementing standards, integrating WASH and IPC indicators into health programming and monitoring and increasing domestic funding. This flyer summarises these actions. If you would like to make a commitment, please visit www.washinhcf.org/commitments