Resources

This interim guidance supplements the infection prevention and control (IPC) documents by summarizing WHO guidance on water, sanitation, hygiene (WASH) and waste management relevant to viruses, including coronaviruses. This document is an update to the interim guidance document entitled ‘Water, sanitation, hygiene, and waste management for the COVID-19 virus’, published on 23 March 2020. It is intended for water and sanitation practitioners and providers, and health-care providers who want to know more about WASH and waste risks and practices in relation to COVID-19.

The policy brief is intended as a tool to guide establishing regulatory frameworks to ensure the sound management of pharmaceutical solid and liquid waste. The guidance document is for use by WHO staff, policy makers and inspectors in Ministry of Health (MoH) and Ministry of Environment, pharmaceutical manufacturers and their associations, local municipalities and consumer organizations.

A Bangla language version of the WASH FIT guide (originally published in 2018).

A simplified version (in Excel) in of the WASH FIT assessment tool for use in facilities who are preparing for, or responding to, COVID-19 cases. The basic methodology of WASH FIT remains the same but is built on a shorter assessment tool, focusing on the most important aspects of WASH in HCF which are needed to respond to COVID-19. The indicators are based on the latest WHO technical guidance on WASH in HCF for COVID-19, available at: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/water-sanitation-hygiene-and-waste-management-for-the-covid-19-virus-interim-guidance. This tool is also available in English and French. An electronic version (in all 3 languages) is available on Kobo Toolbox at: https://ee.kobotoolbox.org/x/egDN1mUO. If you would like support using the electronic version, contact Janet Ausel. Thanks go to Food for the Hungry and Engineers Without Borders USA for their support developing this tool.

A simplified version (in Excel) in of the WASH FIT assessment tool for use in facilities who are preparing for, or responding to, COVID-19 cases. The basic methodology of WASH FIT remains the same but is built on a shorter assessment tool, focusing on the most important aspects of WASH in HCF which are needed to respond to COVID-19. The indicators are based on the latest WHO technical guidance on WASH in HCF for COVID-19, available at: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/water-sanitation-hygiene-and-waste-management-for-the-covid-19-virus-interim-guidance. This tool is also available in English and Spanish. An electronic version (in all 3 languages) is available on Kobo Toolbox at: https://ee.kobotoolbox.org/x/egDN1mUO. If you would like support using the electronic version, contact Janet Ausel. Thanks go to Food for the Hungry and Engineers Without Borders USA for their support developing this tool.

A summary of WHO and UNICEF's main activities for 2020. Refer also to this document for an additional summary of activities.

The Hand Hygiene for All Initiative presents an opportunity to create a step-change in how hand hygiene is promoted, enabled and mainstreamed throughout the whole of society and across the globe. It aims to bring together multiple sectors around a common platform to coordinate voices and actions and, crucially, to align these behind national hand hygiene strategies. The global framework for this Initiative will organise actors around four main areas: evidence and learning, multi-stakeholder engagement, investment and monitoring. UNICEF and WHO will be supported by a select group of core partners, including but not limited to World Bank, Sanitation and Water for All, International Federation of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine/Hygiene Hub, International Labour Organization, United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), Global Handwashing Partnership and WaterAid. If you have any questions, contact Michael Emerson Gnilo megnilo@unicef.org and Maggie Montgomery MontgomeryM@who.int.

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.