What's so Important about Advancing Good Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene?
Since the early 2000s, global health has entered a new era. This change is marked by an increased focus on the importance of WASH for improving global health. WASH is a very complex issue, but the basics are simple: clean water is a basic right for everyone in the world; sanitation helps prevent disease and death; and hygiene limits the spread of infectious diseases like diarrhea which can be fatal to children under five years old. We can all do something to improve WASH around us and make our communities healthier places by building latrines or teaching people proper handwashing techniques—all while making it fun!
Big Three of Global Health
Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) are often called the 'big three' of global health. There are many reasons why improving WASH can help to reduce child mortality and improve the health of people around the world. It's not just about having enough water to drink; it's also about how you use that water and what happens after it has been used by you or someone else. For example, if you wash your hands with soap after going to the toilet then this helps prevent diarrhea which is one of the main killers of children under five years old in developing countries - especially when they live in areas where there are no toilets available so they have no choice but go outside where there may be animals nearby who could spread germs onto their hands!
It's important to remember that WASH is a human right and public health issue. It's also an environmental issue, because clean water and sanitation help us all live in better environments.
Why Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Important for Global Health?
Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) are crucial for global health and are interdependent components for improving health and well-being. Access to clean water and adequate sanitation facilities can prevent the spread of waterborne diseases such as cholera, dysentery, and typhoid. On the other hand, good hygiene practices such as handwashing with soap can reduce the transmission of diseases like pneumonia, diarrhea, and COVID-19.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), inadequate WASH is responsible for around 842,000 deaths annually, with children under the age of five being particularly vulnerable. Diarrheal diseases caused by contaminated water and poor sanitation are among the leading causes of child mortality worldwide. The lack of WASH also affects the health of women and girls, as they are often responsible for collecting water and may miss school or work due to poor menstrual hygiene management.
UNICEF works to improve access to WASH in low-income countries and to end open defecation, which is a major contributor to poor health outcomes. UNICEF also emphasizes the importance of hygiene promotion, including handwashing with soap, as a critical component of WASH interventions.
Additionally, the Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply and Sanitation, a collaboration between WHO and UNICEF, tracks progress towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, which aims to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. The JMP's latest report (2020) states that while progress has been made in increasing access to improved drinking water sources, 2 billion people still lack access to basic sanitation, and 4.2 billion people lack access to safely managed sanitation.
WASH is a fundamental aspect of global health and efforts to improve access to clean water, adequate sanitation, and good hygiene practices are essential to reducing the burden of preventable diseases and improving health outcomes.
Clean Water: A Basic Right?
Clean water is a basic right for everyone in the world. Clean water is a human right, as recognized by the United Nations since 2010. It's also a public health issue--without access to clean water and sanitation, diseases like cholera and typhoid can spread quickly through communities. Access to clean drinking water can also help reduce poverty by allowing people to work more productively or attend school longer hours without having to worry about where their next drink will come from.
Clean drinking water is essential for sustainable development because it allows people access to food production areas, which increases productivity; supports economic growth; improves health outcomes through reduced disease burden (including stunted growth); reduces absenteeism from work due to illness; reduces burdens on local healthcare services; increases productivity through less time spent fetching water than when there were no facilities nearby at all!
Sanitation for Public Health
Sanitation is important for public health. It prevents the spread of diseases and reduces the amount of disease-causing germs in the environment. Sanitation can also reduce poverty by improving productivity and helping children stay healthy so they can attend school, which has been shown to increase lifetime income for individuals by 10%-20%.
Sanitation is a basic human right. Access to clean water and sanitation facilities is recognized as an essential component of development by international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group.
Hygiene and the Spread of Diseases
Hygiene is a key factor in preventing the spread of diseases such as diarrhea, which kills 2 million children every year. Hand washing with soap and water after using the toilet or handling feces can reduce the risk of spreading germs and prevent infection.
Toilets or latrines provide an alternative to open defecation (and its associated health risks). When properly constructed and used, they help keep people healthy by reducing contact with fecal matter that may contain germs like cholera or hepatitis A.
Boiling water kills bacteria, viruses and parasites that cause diarrhea when consumed untreated by humans or animals.
Improve WASH and Global Health
There are many ways to help improve water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) around the world. Here are a few ideas:
Donate to a charity that works in this area. There are many charities working on global health issues, including WASH. You can find out more about them by looking at www.charitynavigator.org or www.charitywatch.org
Volunteer your time with an organization that focuses on improving global health by providing clean drinking water or better sanitation facilities for people who don't have them yet; there are lots of organizations doing just that! Volunteering is also a great way to meet like-minded individuals who share your passion for helping others.
Improving WASH is one of the most effective ways to improve global health, and it's also one of the most cost-effective. The World Health Organization estimates that every dollar invested in improving water quality, sanitation, and hygiene yields $5 in returns.
Improving WASH means providing people with safe drinking water; proper toilets or latrines; good handwashing facilities; basic hygiene education; better management of wastewater; and improved access to health care services.
We can all do something to help improve WASH and global health. With just a little bit of time, you can make a difference in someone's life by donating money or volunteering at your local WASH facility. By making sure that everyone has access to clean water and sanitation facilities, we're helping millions worldwide live healthier lives.
HopeCore WASH Program:
HopeCore focuses on three main areas for preventing hygiene-related diseases in our communities:
Access to safe drinking water
Education on appropriate hygiene practices
Distribution of soap
In 2022 HopeCore distributed 10,008 liters of handwashing soap and 2,823 bottles of WaterGuard, which is enough to treat 2,823,000 liters of water.
Learn more about our water quality testing results at our next blog HERE
