News
The four-day global learning event WASH in Rural Health Care Facilities in Punakha, Bhutan is now ongoing. A Marchang ceremony marked the launch of this auspicious event, i.e., the coming together of almost 50 participants in Bhutan from across the globe to deepen conversations on the place of WASH in health care facilities.
“WASH in health care facilities (HCFs) is important to provide quality universal health coverage, effective infection control, and good waste management practices. If safe drinking water, basic or improved sanitation, and public education on hygiene practices are ensured – mortality and morbidity rates will be reduced significantly” (Dr Ugen Dophu, Secretary, Ministry of Health during the official opening remarks).
Health care facilities (HCFs) are the frontliners of health care delivery within public spaces. They are extensions of the government’s duty to ensure people’s access to their most basic human rights, e.g., the human right to health, and the human right to water and sanitation.
- Unfortunately, JMP research data shows that 1 in 4 HCFs lacks basic water supply facilities; 1 in 5 does not have sanitation facilities. Poorly functioning facilities (or their absence) results in ineffective infection prevention and control. As well, people’s low confidence on public infrastructure and services. Efforts to improve basic WASH services, among others, will help boost credibility of public health programmes, and a population's overall health condition.
- Taking positive health outcomes to scale is equally problematic. Although villages, schools and HCFs themselves may have their own WASH/ HCF plans, their limited and place-specific scope are incapable of taking progress to scale. A larger strategy (such as an area-wide programme) – embedded in local governance systems – is needed.
About the learning event
Jointly hosted by the Public Health Engineering Division of Bhutan's Ministry of Health and SNV in Bhutan, the WASH in Rural Health Care Facilities learning event will conclude on 9 May 2019. The four-day learning event builds on last month’s moderated exchanges on WASH and HCFs (via the SNV WASH e-group platform) which ran for three weeks.
The face-to-face learning event in Bhutan is arranged in five learning blocks. Participant accounts of the learning event will be shared in the coming weeks. Follow @SNV_WASH on Twitter to keep abreast with latest developments on this learning event (and SNV's rural and urban WASH programmes).
| Day and date | Learning block focus |
| Day One, 6 May |
Block 1: Collaboration between health care and WASH structures Block 2: Health care facilities in Bhutan |
| Day Two, 7 May | [Health care facility visit, and field assignment] |
| Day Three, 8 May | Block 3: Entry points for change |
| Day Four, 9 May |
Block 4: Integration of waste streams Block 5: Consolidation |
Banner photo: ycchen, via pixabay