Health workers and patients around the world are at risk from an absence of basic hygiene in many hospitals and clinics, according to a new report.
A new joint report from the World Health Organization and UNICEF highlights the widespread lack of basic hygiene services at health care facilities across the globe.
The ‘Progress on WASH in health care facilities 2000-2021: special focus on WASH and infection prevention and control’ report found that half of health care facilities worldwide are without basic hygiene services such as soap and soap or alcohol-based hand rub at points of care.
This represents a significant risk of disease to health care staff and the 3.85 billion people who use these facilities.
Furthermore, about 688 million of these people are receiving care at facilities with no hygiene services whatsoever.
This report is the first to establish a global baseline of ‘water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services’ with more countries than ever contributing to the report. Forty countries now report on hygiene, compared with only 14 in 2019.
Dr Maria Neira of the WHO said: “Hygiene facilities and practices in health care settings are non-negotiable. Their improvement is essential to pandemic recovery, prevention and preparedness."
Dr Maria Neira, also of the WHO, added: "Hygiene in health care facilities cannot be secured without increasing investments in basic measures, which include safe water, clean toilets, and safely managed health care waste.
“I encourage Member States to step up their efforts to implement their 2019 World Health Assembly commitment to strengthen water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services in health care facilities, and to monitor these efforts.”
Among the countries covered by the report, 10% of health care facilities had no sanitation service, with the least developed countries at greatest risk.
The report is being launched at an event in Stockholm, Sweden, held as part of World Water Week which began on 23 August.
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