Did you know that an estimated 15% of patients develop one or more infections during a hospital stay and that at any given time 10 of every 100 hospitalized patients in developing countries acquire at least one healthcare-associated infection?

The lack of access to an improved water source and availability of soap at many healthcare facilities (HCF) in resource-limited settings and gaps in the awareness of the importance of enhanced hygiene and infection prevention undercut the ability for staff to offer safe services and for patients and visitors to protect themselves from acquiring infections. In order to practice good hygiene in health settings, water and soap must be accessible. However, a recent UNICEF/WHO report on the availability of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) in 66,000 facilities in 54 countries stated that 38% did not have an improved water source, 19% did not have improved sanitation facilities, and 35% did not have soap and water for handwashing.

To learn how WASH can prevent the spread of healthcare-associated infections, join Medentech and the Global Handwashing Partnership on May 3 at 10 am EST for a webinar observing Hand Hygiene Day (May 5).

During this webinar, experts will share information on how to improve WASH in HCFs, including:

• The World Health Organization (WHO) will share an update from the WHO/UNICEF Global Action Plan on WASH in HCF;
• USAID’s Maternal & Child Program (MCSP) will discuss how WASH underpins quality of care and contributes to health systems strengthening effort, as well as the Clean Clinic Approach, a WASH program that empowers HCFs to become clean, safe, and desirable;
• The Beninese Association for Social Marketing (Association Béninoise pour le Marketing Social (ABMS), a member of the PSI network) will provide an overview of how it supports HCFs in Benin to improve hygiene and make services safer for patients;
• Medentech will share lessons learned from its work in infection prevention across the world and offer some tools for continued hygiene improvement in healthcare clinics globally.

Presenters will also share links to educational resources and tools during the webinar.

We look forward to having you join us on May 3 at 10 am EST!

Learn more about the webinar here: bit.ly/GHPwebinar and register here: bit.ly/WASHinHCF .

Happy Hand Hygiene Day!