Water, sanitation and hygiene in health-care facilities: a practical tool for situation assessment and improvement planning

ABSTRACT

Adequate water, hygiene and sanitation (WASH) services in health-care facilities, with waste management and environmental cleaning, are fundamental to ensuring high-quality care, safe maternal and child health services, infection prevention and control, and occupational health of health workers. In the light of the scarcity of available data and the lack of baseline information in many countries, World Health Assembly resolution WHA72.7 on WASH in health-care facilities emphasizes the need for countries to conduct comprehensive assessments of WASH conditions in all health-care facilities. This practical tool has been developed for health authorities and other stakeholders to support the design and implementation of such assessments at the national and subnational levels. Countries can use the tool to inform the development of supportive regulations and improvement planning, to facilitate policy dialogue and to track progress towards achievement of Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 6.