Barriers to achieving and sustaining access to water, sanitation, hygiene, waste management (collectively, “WASH”) in healthcare facilities include a supportive policy environment and adequate funding. While guidelines exist for assessing needs and making initial infrastructure improvements, there is little guidance on how to develop budgets and policies to sustain WASH services in the long-term. This research was conducted on costing and advocacy activities in Thakurbaba municipality, Nepal, with the aim of developing a budget and operations and maintenance policy for WASH in healthcare facilities in partnership with the municipal government. The objectives for this study are to (1) describe the process and methods used for costing and advocacy, (2) report the costs to achieve and maintain basic WASH services in the eight healthcare facilities of Thakurbaba municipality, and (3) report the outcomes of advocacy activities and policy development. Find more about the case study here!
Archives: Resources
WASH-in-Healthcare Facilities: Trainers’ Guide (The WASH Foundation)
The WASH Foundation’s WASH-in-Healthcare Facilities (WinHCF) program is designed to support UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) in their efforts to train healthcare facility staff to include water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) in health plans, budgets, and operations. This staff training program provides learning materials, support, monitoring, and evaluation opportunities to healthcare facility staff members to strengthen their capacities. The goal is to train healthcare facility staff and management to integrate good WASH practices and education into annual health sector planning, budgeting, and programming. These integrations will enable healthcare facility staff members to deliver quality services and serve as peer trainers. This document is the trainer’s guide to achieving that.
Water and Sanitation interventions to prevent and control mosquito-borne diseases: Focus on Emergency
Mosquito-borne diseases are a major global health threat, with nearly 80% of the world’s population at risk of infection. Climate change, conflict and human displacement are all growing in scale, increasing the spread of mosquito-borne diseases. A number of effective water, sanitation and waste management measures exist and can be implemented to prevent mosquito-borne diseases. A new WHO/UNICEF technical note provides practical information for implementing such measures with a focus on emergency contexts. The intended users are water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) health partners and practitioners, national and local public health authorities and humanitarian and community-based organizations. Find the document here!
A review of health-care waste management policies in the Western Pacific Region
A review was carried out on health-care waste management policies in the Western Pacific Region, encompassing 16 countries and areas with diverse systems and resources. This report presents key findings on policy comprehensiveness in relation to WHO guidance. The review process included examining essential components of the legal framework for health-care waste management in each country. It also sought to identify best practices in disaster and emergency preparedness and to determine whether advanced, environmentally friendly technologies, including low-carbon alternatives, had been adopted as recommended in national policies. Based on the findings, recommendations were made with the aim of enhancing health-care waste management policies, with a specific focus on addressing technical gaps. Find the review here!
National WASH Standards and Implementation Guidelines for healthcare facilities-Bangladesh
This document is the National WASH and waste standards in healthcare facilities in Bangladesh (2023).
How hospitals in Nepal are making waste their business
Since the COVID pandemic, major hospitals across Nepal have set up environmentally friendly systems to segregate, treat and dispose of healthcare waste. Together with WHO Nepal and UNICEF, the project supported the National Health Training Centre (NHTC), the in-service training institution of the Ministry of Health and Population, to develop a learning resource package on healthcare waste management. This has resulted in cleaner premises, safer working conditions, reduced burning of waste and welcome revenue from the sale of recyclables. Find out more here!
Costs of Health Care Associated Infections from Inadequate Water and Sanitation in Health Care Facilities in Eastern and Southern Africa
In Eastern and Southern Africa, an estimated 3.1 million HAIs in 2022 incurred over 320,000 excess deaths. When all the direct and indirect costs are considered, it is likely that Healthcare associated infections (HAIs) account for well over 7% of health spending and the economic costs of at least US$6 billion exceed 1% of GDP in the nine study countries. Implementation of WASH, HCWM and environmental cleaning is likely to prevent at least 50% of these costs and have multiple additional benefits on patient and healthcare worker safety and satisfaction. Investing in comprehensive WASH and HCWM can yield substantial benefits, with a benefit-cost ratio of 5.8 for all economic costs. Find the policy research paper here!
WASH Reflections from Dnipro, Ukraine
Dr. Maragaret Montgomery, the lead of WASH in Healthcare facilities and settings in WASH Unit-WHO shares her reflection from her recent visit to Dnipro, in Eastern Ukraine. She co-facilitated a training co-hosted by WHO & UNICEF on improving water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), waste and infection prevention and control (IPC) in health care facilities (HCFs). Watch the video here and read the reflections below!
Technical webinar series: Costing & Budgeting for WASH in healthcare facilities
WHO & UNICEF hosted a technical webinar on Costing and Budgeting for WASH in healthcare facilities on 1st of February 2024. Watch the technical webinar here and find the slides below!
UN General Assembly resolution: Sustainable, safe and universal water, sanitation, hygiene, waste and electricity services in health care facilities
The new resolution emphasizes the critical role these services play in achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and underscores the gaps in current global services. It also encourages Member States to integrate these services into national health planning and calls for improved international cooperation to support developing countries in this area. In addition, the Resolution highlights the need for cross-sectoral engagement, national roadmaps, adequate resourcing and regular monitoring and evaluation to ensure the provision of these essential services. Find the resolution here!