hands4health
Hand hygiene, water quality and sanitation in primary health care facilities and schools not connected to functional water supply systems
Current situation
Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) are central to the ability to maintain hygienic environments and prevent disease transmission in both health care facilities and schools. Proper and frequent hand hygiene is one of the most important measures that can be taken to prevent the transmission of diarrheal diseases, respiratory diseases and (re-)emerging infections.
In 2019, the Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) Global Baseline Report estimated that over 45% of primary health care facilities and 50% of schools in LMICs do not have access to handwashing facilities, basic hygiene and water supply systems. Moreover, administrators and staff of health care facilities and schools often lack the capacity and knowledge to manage WASH services adequately. This holds particularly true in a context where functional water supply is lacking, rendering the provision of adequate WASH services intractable.
Our Vision
To join our experiences and efforts to establish a systemic approach to hand hygiene and WASH in primary health care facilities and schools serving the most vulnerable populations.
Target Population
Off-grid schools and health care facilities with poor WASH services, located in conflict-affected areas, refugee and internally displaced camps, informal settlements and remote rural areas.
10 Partners
NGOs, academia and private sector entities
8 Work Packages
Four-year project timeline: 2021-2024
4 Countries
Mali, Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Palestine
Latest news
- Baseline data collection started in Palestine
Baseline data collection The baseline data collection started on January 29, 2023 in Palestine. The process was kicked off at the Al Bwaib Elementary Mixed School, and is expected to be finalised on… Read More »Baseline data collection started in Palestine - Our first general update meeting of 2023
Kicking off the New Year together The hands4health partners started 2023 with a general online gathering to: Share updates on their activities, with a view of coordinating the roll-out of the second phase… Read More »Our first general update meeting of 2023 - Coming soon: First hands4health newsletter
First newsletter coming soon Beginning of 2023, the first hands4health newsletter will be sent out. It will feature updates from the project partners and countries, and interesting resources on the project activities and… Read More »Coming soon: First hands4health newsletter - hands4health’s Theory of Change journey
Theory of Change: An overview The hands4health Theory of Change (ToC) was designed to fully integrate the project’s systemic approach (WP 5), by: (i) Investigating the whys behind the problems and challenges identified… Read More »hands4health’s Theory of Change journey
Consortium partners
Funding
The hands4health initiative is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), through a project and programme contribution of CHF 4’700’000. More information is available here.