Access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in the United States

BACKGROUND

Clean water and sanitation are critical for maintaining good health and preventing the spread of disease. In the United States, many people take for granted that safe water is accessible just by turning on a faucet, but today an estimated 2.2 million Americans live in homes without running water or basic plumbing. Because of aging water infrastructure and failing septic systems, tens of millions more lack adequate sanitation facilities for the safe disposal of human waste and wastewater treatment. Although water insecurity threatens the health of all communities, research shows that Latino, Black and Indigenous communities are much more likely to experience poor water and sanitation systems. Immigrants and people living in low-income and rural areas are also disproportionately affected.

PROJECT OVERVIEW

To help address the urgent and growing health problems caused by contaminated water, the CDC Foundation is supporting six organizations working to increase public awareness of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) issues and improve these conditions in communities experiencing limited access or unsafe water systems. The CDC Foundation funding supports organizations working in California, the Appalachia region, the Navajo Nation and urban and rural communities in the Black Belt and Jackson, MS.

These organizations are working to identify the water and sanitation needs in their respective regions and connect community members with available services. They address poor WASH conditions on the household level by increasing access to water testing, distributing water filters, installing home water systems, and establishing water delivery programs and free hygiene pantries to provide soap and other personal hygiene supplies. They also conduct outreach in multiple languages to increase awareness of the importance of safe water, sanitation and hygiene.

As part of this project, each organization also chose a representative to participate in the OpEd Workshop, a unique opportunity to work with a network of media mentors to write effective and powerful pieces about the water crisis and the work they are doing to address it. 

The organizations receiving support are:

  • Black Belt Unincorporated Wastewater Program (BBUWP) and PEER Consulting
  • Community Resource Center
  • The DigDeep Right to Water Project (The Navajo Water Project and The Appalachia Water Project)
  • El Sol Neighborhood Educational Center
  • People’s Advocacy Institute
  • West Central Alabama Community Health Improvement League, Inc.

Read our recent story about People's Advocacy Institute and their tireless efforts to bring clean water to Jackson, MS.

Read our blog about how these organizations are addressing the water crisis and ensure access to clean, safe water for everyone.

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wasterwater surveillance in Houston
WASH in the United States
United States of America
To increase public awareness of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) issues and improve conditions in communities experiencing limited access or unsafe water systems in the United States.
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Improving Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Services in Healthcare Facilities

The CDC Foundation is collaborating with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to expand best practices for water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in healthcare facilities (HCFs) through implementation of targeted action research pilots in Uganda. These pilots involve developing and testing context-appropriate solutions for increasing uptake of WASH practices and sustained management of WASH services that meet the needs of patients and healthcare workers. Proposed action pilots will adapt promising interventions implemented in the United States and other healthcare settings to the context of Ugandan primary HCFs or identify new approaches where no interventions exist.

Pilot activities will include:

  • Identifying the determinants of sustainability of WASH infrastructure in HCFs through review of policies and practices among HCFs with well and poorly managed infrastructure;
  • Understanding patient and healthcare worker needs for drinking water and sanitation services, which remain understudied, and testing systems that meet their needs;
  • Assessing the effectiveness and acceptability of formalizing management responsibilities of WASH infrastructure that is often neglected, such as water supply and sanitation facilities, through standard operating procedures and job aids;
  • Identifying and testing culturally appropriate accountability systems for improving healthcare worker hand hygiene practices, including novel approaches that are suitable for small facilities.

There has been increased global focus in the past decade on the inadequate status of systems and WASH practices in HCFs and the importance of these systems for preserving the health and dignity of healthcare workers, patients and communities. Recent Ebola outbreaks and the COVID-19 pandemic have further highlighted the essential role of strong WASH systems in HCFs for infection prevention and control (IPC). However, despite advocacy and intervention efforts, global WASH in HCF stakeholder meetings in 2016 and 2019 continued to find significant gaps in sector knowledge. These include the need to identify effective approaches for sustainably managing WASH services and ensuring appropriate WASH practices are consistently adopted, particularly in aspects of patient and staff WASH needs that lie outside of IPC such as drinking water and sanitation.

As an increasing number of partners engage in WASH in HCF initiatives, evidence-based, field-tested best practices in these areas are needed to enable effective implementation and management by HCF leadership and supporting partners.

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Improving Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Services in Healthcare Facilities
Uganda
To expand CDC’s strategic engagement in learning and evaluation of best practices for water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in health care facilities through implementation of targeted action research pilots in Uganda.
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safe water
Supporting Water & Hygiene in Mali
Mali
To provide both rapid and sustainable access to water to an estimated 66,000 people in healthcare facilities in marginalized, rural, trachoma-endemic communities in Mali.
The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation
CDC’s National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases

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