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    Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene: Infectious Diseases, 5 (1), 42-52

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    The document discusses water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). WASH refers to access to safe water supplies, adequate sanitation facilities, and essential hygiene practices. Lack of WASH leads to diseases like diarrhea, which causes 1.8 million deaths annually. Improving WASH, such as through handwashing with soap, can reduce disease burden. Multiple coordinated WASH interventions are more effective than single interventions. Africa faces challenges in financing and staffing for WASH services.

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    Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene: Infectious Diseases, 5 (1), 42-52

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    realsilverle
    17 views1 page
    The document discusses water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). WASH refers to access to safe water supplies, adequate sanitation facilities, and essential hygiene practices. Lack of WASH leads to diseases like diarrhea, which causes 1.8 million deaths annually. Improving WASH, such as through handwashing with soap, can reduce disease burden. Multiple coordinated WASH interventions are more effective than single interventions. Africa faces challenges in financing and staffing for WASH services.

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    Grad School, Spring 2013

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    Global Health

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    The document discusses water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). WASH refers to access to safe water supplies, adequate sanitation facilities, and essential hygiene practices. Lack of WASH leads to diseases like diarrhea, which causes 1.8 million deaths annually. Improving WASH, such as through handwashing with soap, can reduce disease burden. Multiple coordinated WASH interventions are more effective than single interventions. Africa faces challenges in financing and staffing for WASH services.

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    17 views1 page

    Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene: Infectious Diseases, 5 (1), 42-52

    Uploaded by

    realsilverle
    The document discusses water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). WASH refers to access to safe water supplies, adequate sanitation facilities, and essential hygiene practices. Lack of WASH leads to diseases like diarrhea, which causes 1.8 million deaths annually. Improving WASH, such as through handwashing with soap, can reduce disease burden. Multiple coordinated WASH interventions are more effective than single interventions. Africa faces challenges in financing and staffing for WASH services.

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    global health LAUREN E.

    SILVER

    Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene

    Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) refers to the extent to which populations have
    access to
    o safe, improved water supplies (i.e., for drinking and cleaning and preparing
    food from such sources as a piped household water connection, a public
    standpipe, or a protected dug well, etc.);
    1

    o improved sanitation (i.e., adequate sewage disposal that prevents contact
    between people and human excreta, such as flush/toilet latrine to a piped sewer
    system, a septic tank, or a pit latrine; a pit latrine with slab; or a composting
    toilet); and
    2

    o essential inputs for proper personal hygiene (i.e., running water and soap for
    hand-washing and bathing).
    3

    The most common WASH-related diseases include diarrhea (the cause of 1.8 million
    deaths per year, 90% of which are among children under 5), arsenicosis (long-term
    exposure to low concentrations of arsenic in drinking water), cholera (an acute
    bacterial infection of the GI tract), Guinea worm disease and other intestinal worms,
    schistosomiasis, and trachoma.
    4

    Simply washing hands with soap and water can cut diarrhoeal disease by one-third.
    5

    A hygienic environment, clean water, and adequate sanitation are key factors in
    preventing opportunistic infections associated with HIV/AIDS. The spread of malaria
    may be prevented by eliminating the standing water that often is associated with
    unimproved sanitation (i.e., by reducing the mosquito population).
    6

    In Africa, there is insufficient domestic financing for WASH, overall, with serious
    shortfalls for sanitation, in particular. Most countries in Africa report insufficient staff to
    operate and maintain urban and rural drinking water systems. However, the political
    will for improving WASH implementation in Africa is growing.
    7

    Enhancing WASH in Africa in order to reduce the burden of WASH-related diseases will
    requirefirst and foremostpromoting hand-washing with soap, enhancing staff
    capacities, integrating WASH into health, nutrition, HIV/AIDS education programming,
    and promoting household water treatment and safe storage.
    8

    Evidence suggests that multiple WASH interventions (consisting of combined water,
    sanitation, and hygiene measures) are more effective than interventions with a single
    focus.
    9



    1
    Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): http://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/global/assessing.html
    2
    Ibid.
    3
    Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): http://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/hygiene/ldc/index.html
    4
    unicef: http://www.unicef.org/wash/index_wes_related.html
    5
    Ibid.
    6
    Ibid.
    7
    World Health Organization (WHO):
    http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/publications/2012/afro_highlight_en.pdf
    8
    unicef: http://www.unicef.org/esaro/ADVANCING_WASH_IN_AFRICA_FINAL.pdf
    9
    Fewtrell L, Kaufmann RB, Kay D, Enanoria W, Haller L, Colford JM Jr. (2005). Water, sanitation, and hygiene
    interventions to reduce diarrhoea in less developed countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet
    Infectious Diseases, 5(1), 42-52.

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