Our Work in Healthcare Facilities

Adequate water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in healthcare facilities (HCFs) is critical to the delivery of high quality and safe care.

This is particularly significant for services during labour, delivery, and postnatal care when the health of mothers and newborns can be severely impacted by poor WASH services. Additionally, adequate WASH in HCFs is essential to uphold infection prevention and control during disease outbreaks such as COVID-19.

Globally we are still seeing huge gaps in basic wash services in healthcare facilities.

Cambodia

The Changing Hygiene Around Maternal Priorities (CHAMP) Plus research project aims to improve the hygiene behaviours of midwives, mothers, fathers, caregivers and visitors that influence maternal and neonatal infection during labour, delivery and post-natal care in healthcare facilities.

Improving cleaning practices is essential to reducing healthcare associated infections, including the spread of COVID-19 and tackling antimicrobial resistance. Clean Frontline is a research project targeting cleaners who are critical frontline workers responsible for cleaning HCFs and improving infection prevention and control. Both these research projects are in partnership with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and the Ministry of Health - National Institute of Public Health (NIPH).

Timor-Leste

WaterAid in partnership with the Ministry of Health and other key stakeholders are implementing a Municipal-led sustainable WASH in healthcare facilities and communities project. The project focuses on improving access to WASH in HCFs and communities in two selected rural locations to demonstrate how using an integrated approach can accelerate government plans for reaching municipal-wide hygienic status.

Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea (PNG) has ambitious targets of achieving access to safe, convenient, and sustainable water supply and sanitation facilities in 100% of medical centres (hospitals, health centres, aid posts) across the country by 2030. In partnership with the National Department of Health and the National WaSH Programme Management Unit (PMU), WaterAid is conducting a situation analysis and assessment of WASH in HCFs in PNG.

WaterAid

Three staff members at Svay Chouk Health Centre in Kampong Chhnang Province where both the CHAMP project and the ANCP project for WASH in HCFs are taking place.