UNICEF's WASH Changing the World
What is WASH?
WASH stands for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene. It is a key public health issue that is the focus of international development and the Sustainable Development Goal 6. That ensures the clean water and sanitation to all by 2030. WASH is a term that incorporates three core issues in separate field which are dependent on each other to function effectively. For example, UNICEF explains this by looking at toilets. Without toilets, human waste will contaminate the water supply which will create dirty water, inhibiting the practice of good hygiene. WHO says, that the provision of WASH in healthcare facilities significantly help to prevent infections and the spread of diseases. The WASH services protect staff, patient and vulnerable groups like the ill, pregnant and disabled. Yet still around the world today, there nearly 2.4 billion people who don’t use improved sanitation and 663 million people who don’t have access to improved water sources (UNICEF 2019).
UNICEF’s WASH Team:
UNICEF’s WASH team operates in over 100 countries across the planet to improve water and sanitation services. They also respond and provide emergencies to those in crisis. The UNICEF WASH team work on each aspect of WASH in order bring out the full potential of projects to ensure success. UNICEF realise that focusing on water, sanitation and hygiene separately will only further strengthen and support each other and if on area is lacking or missing it will severely downgrade progress to improve conditions.
Water: UNICEF focuses on improving family access to safe water that is sustainable and affordable close to home. They place huge importance on the role water becoming essential to the survival and development children. The fact that water resources can provide a range of services in economic growth and poverty reduction. Clean water is essential. Water contamination is a major threat to the clean water resources and supply lines. Pollution of chemical like arsenic poisons and threatens the lives of millions, and elsewhere human waste contamination is the cause diarrhoea which UNICEF and WHO estimate kills 800 children a day. Children are most affected. Children are very vulnerable. Children are the future. Yet many are suffering for poor water quality. UNICEF are determined to deliver safe drinkable water supply children and their families from sources like using low-cost solutions like groundwater sources in marginalised communities to provide relatively easy access through wells.
Sanitation: Here UNICEF are have changed to not just used technological fixes to improve the sanitation situation around the world but also incorporated attitudinal fixes to change people outlooks on sanitation. Once again, the focus was on children. The fact that 946 million practice open defecation demonstrated one of the biggest challenges faced by UNICEF. Ending open defecation practices by 2030. It is a big task that does not have the simple solution of building toilets to stop this, but required behavioural changes in society, especially in rural communities. UNICEF’s work on sanitation is largely on raising awareness, sharing information and changing behaviours to successfully convince people to use toilets the proper way. As such, UNICEF works with government to setup frameworks to follow but also community-based programs to educate and empower communities. World Toilet Day is held every year on 19th November.
Hygiene: Handwashing. Something so simple can save lives. It is estimated that regular handwashing with soap can reduce the number of disease related incidents by 50% (UNICEF 2019). UNICEF have setup multiple programmes around the world to promote handwashing and behaviour change, which has empowered many children as “hygiene ambassadors and agents of change” within their communities. Education, community participation and communication are vital in stepping forwards in the right direction of hygiene practice. Global Handwashing Day is held every year on 15th October.
Overall UNICEF is working towards all children having the right to basic water and sanitation and ensuring that no child is ‘left behind’. When development goals failed to reach millions of poor children in rural communities. UNICEF are marching forwards to reach the most ‘vulnerable and disadvantages children’.
UNICEF success in Zambia:
Zambia was severely plagued with disease incidents like cholera and diarrhoea, where inadequate WASH was the leading cause of the death of children under the age of five. Women and girls are most vulnerable groups affected by poor WASH practices. 15% of the population practices open defecation, with only 14% of the population has access to basic hygiene services. Children and teachers also suffer with 34% of schools not having adequate sanitation service (UNICEF 2019). UNICEF in Zambia has contributed to several programmes with the purpose of improving equitable access to safe drinking water and sanitation for children and women in Zambia. UNICEF WASH programmes are working in 68 rural districts within 10 provinces in Zambia (UNICEF 2019). With the help of the project's children have become more aware and educated with the importance of handwashing and have begun changing behaviours towards defecating out in the open and using the toilet facilities properly.
UNICEF’s vision is very simple and clean. Not easy. UNICEF’s vision for WASH is to progressively realise the human rights to water and sanitation, whilst prioritising interventions for the children. There are two main objectives:
- By 2030, achieve equal access to safe and affordable drinking water for all
- By 2030, achieve equal and adequate sanitation and hygiene for all and ending open defecation which placing special importance on women and girl in vulnerable situations
So far with our support, UNICEF (2015) have helped nearly 14 million people get access to clean water and more than 11 million people with basic toilets. We can see the vision. Let hope this vision continues to grow.
UNICEF are saving the lives of millions of children worldwide. And will continue to do so.
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