Supporting Water & Hygiene Infrastructure in Africa

Globally, gaps in basic Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services in health care facilities (HCFs) place approximately 1.8 billion people at heightened risk of diseases. 

In the world’s lowest-income countries, half of HCFs lack basic water access, over 60 percent lack basic sanitation and 70 percent lack basic healthcare waste management.

The CDC Foundation is working to improve WASH infrastructure and waste management in HCFs, with support from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. In partnership with implementing organizations and local governments in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana and Uganda, the CDC Foundation is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to assess and track progress toward national and global standards for WASH in HCFs, expand best practices for WASH through targeted research pilots in local settings to increase uptake of WASH practices in HCFs and provide technical assistance to partners for rapid assessments of WASH in health care facilities to assist with COVID-19 prevention and preparedness interventions.

Through this vital work, the CDC Foundation and our partners ensure that healthcare facilities in high-priority settings are implementing evidence-based, field-tested best practices to reduce the burden of infectious diseases and save lives.