GLOBAL- According to the most recent Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) report by WHO and UNICEF, basic hygiene services are absent in half of the healthcare facilities globally.

These hygiene services include water and soap or alcohol-based hand rub where patients receive care and at these institutions’ restrooms.

These facilities are used by about 3.85 billion individuals, putting them at higher risk for infection. Of these, 688 million people receive treatment in facilities with no hygienic services at all.

Dr Maria Neira, WHO Director, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health said that hygiene facilities and practices in health care settings are non-negotiable. Their improvement is essential to pandemic recovery, prevention and preparedness.

She further stated that 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.

She encourages 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.

The latest report, “Progress on WASH in health care facilities 2000–2021: special focus on WASH and infection prevention and control”, has for the first time established this global baseline on hygiene services.

As more nations are reporting on crucial WASH services in their hospitals and other health facilities than ever before, the most recent report evaluated access to toilets as well as sites of care.

40 countries, or 35% of the world’s population, have statistics accessible on hygiene, up from 21 in 2020 and 14 in 2019, which represents an increase.

Sub-Saharan African facilities are falling behind in terms of hygiene services. Only 53% of healthcare institutions in the Least Developed Countries have access to a protected water supply on the grounds.

The recently developed global estimate paints a more accurate and concerning picture of the cleanliness situation in healthcare institutions.

Only 51% of healthcare facilities exceeded the requirements for basic hygiene services.

68% of them provided facilities for handwashing with water and soap at restrooms and 65% had such amenities at sites of care. Furthermore, just one in eleven (9%) medical facilities worldwide have both.

Sub-Saharan African facilities are falling behind in terms of hygiene services. Only 53% of healthcare institutions in the Least Developed Countries have access to a protected water supply on the grounds.

One out of every ten health care institution worldwide lacked sanitation services in the data-available countries.

The research also demonstrates that a lot of healthcare facilities don’t do basic environmental cleaning or safely separate and dispose of medical waste.

The report will be released during Stockholm, Sweden’s World Water Week, an annual conference, which takes place from August 23 to September 1.

It will examine fresh approaches to solving some of humanity’s most pressing problems, including those related to food security, health, agriculture, technology, biodiversity, and climate.

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