Seminar Title: WASH: Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene.

Faculty of health science

Lecturer: Mr. Farhan Somali

Bsc, MPH in Environmental and Occupational health

06/02/2025 Mr Farhan Somali 1

 What Will We Learn Today?
By the end of this seminar, you will:
Understand what WASH is and why it is important.
Learn how diseases spread through dirty water and poor hygiene.
Discover simple habits that can prevent illness and save lives.
Benefits of a WASH program
Gender roles and responsibility in preparing and responding to WASH-related disease
outbreaks.
WASH principles for safe water, sanitation, and hygiene in disease control.
 Objective:
This topic will introduce learners to appropriate ways of improving
water quality, sanitation and hygiene to prevent emerging pandemics
threats using a One health approach.
To raise awareness about the importance of WASH (Water,
Sanitation, and Hygiene) and promote best practices that support
public health and sustainable development.
General Overview of WASH
WASH stands for:
Water – Safe and clean water for drinking, cooking, and washing.
Sanitation – Safe disposal of human waste using toilets or latrines.
Hygiene – Personal cleanliness, including handwashing and keeping our
surroundings clean.
WASH is the combined term for Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene
These three areas are closely connected. If one is missing, the others are
affected. That’s why we must look at all of them together to create a
healthier life for everyone.
 Clean Water and Sanitation

Clean water and sanitation are essential for

human health and well-being.

Access to clean water and proper

sanitation facilities is a basic human right.

Lack of clean water and sanitation leads to

the spread of diseases and hampers socio-
economic development.

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Understanding WASH
Fundamentals
Safe Drinking Water

Treatment methods and quality standards ensure water is safe to cons

Sanitation Systems
Proper waste disposal prevents environmental contamination and
disease spread.

Hygiene Practices
Handwashing and cleanliness stop disease transmission in communitie

Global Impact
Over 2 billion lack sanitation; economic losses reach $411 billion yea
Water and sanitation in our
world
 Why is WASH Important?
Without good WASH practices:
People can get sick from dirty water.
Poor sanitation can spread dangerous diseases
like cholera, diarrhea, and typhoid.
Not washing hands can spread germs easily,
especially to children.
 Importance of WASH in Pandemics
• Children and other vulnerable groups are susceptible to illness and death during epidemics
• Many infectious diseases are caused by lack of sanitation, inadequate safe water and poor
hygiene.
• Risk of diarrheal diseases is high when there is poor access to WASH

• Access to WASH can accelerate socio-economic development.

• Access to adequate WASH facilities in households, communities and institutions is critical in

disease prevention and response

 Importance of WASH in Pandemics
• Promote healthy living for humans, animals and
the environment

• Prevent death from dehydration

• Reduce the risk of water, sanitation, and hygiene-

related diseases

• Allow for adequate drinking, cooking, sanitation,

personal and domestic hygienic requirements
 WASH AND ONE HEALTH

Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development. 2022;12(3):286-301. doi:10.2166/washdev.2022.204

 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

In 2015, the new Sustainable Development

Goals (SDGs) were released.

These are 17 goals for everyone, everywhere,

aimed at achieving three extraordinary things in
the next 15 years:
• End extreme poverty.
• Fight inequality & injustice.
• Fix climate change.
 Sustainable Development Goal 6

Goal 6 of the United Nations' Sustainable

Development Goals aims to ensure clean water
and sanitation for all by 2030.

This goal emphasizes the need for universal

access to safe and affordable drinking water,
adequate sanitation, and hygiene facilities.

Achieving Goal 6 requires investment in

infrastructure, capacity-building, and behavior
change.
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Strategies for Ensuring Clean Water and Sanitation

Implementing water treatment processes

to ensure the quality of drinking water.

Promoting hygiene education and

behavior change to improve sanitation
practices.

Investing in infrastructure development,

such as piped water networks and
sanitation facilities.
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 Discussion Questions
1. Do you think the water you drink is clean and safe? Why or why not?
2. What do you or your family do to make water safe for drinking (e.g., boiling,
filtering)?
3. When do you usually wash your hands during the day?
4. How can we teach children the importance of good hygiene?
5. How can your community work together to improve access to clean water and
toilets?
6. What role can schools, teachers, and students play in promoting WASH?
 Wash-related Diseases
Water-borne diseases
Caused by the ingestion of water, contaminated by human or animal faeces containing pathogens
Water-washed diseases
Caused by inadequate or lack use of water for domestic and personal hygiene.
Water-based diseases
Infections caused by parasites usually found in aquatic organisms, for example schistosomiasis.
Water-related diseases
Insect vectors, breeding or living in or around water. The main cause of malaria.
Diarrhoea, acute respiratory infection (pneumonia), and malaria
 Bradley Classification System for Water-related Diseases

Category Example Intervention

Diarrhoeal disease, cholera,
Water-borne Improve drinking water quality, prevent causal
dysentery, typhoid, infectious
use of unprotected sources
hepatitis
Diarrhoeal disease, cholera, Increase water quantity
Water-washed
dysentery, trachoma, scabies, skin Improve hygiene
and eye infections, pneumonia
Reduce need for contact with contaminated
Water-based Schistosomiasis,
water, reduce surface water contamination

Malaria, onchocerciasis, dengue Improve surface water management, destroy

Water-related (insect vector)
fever, Gambian sleeping sickness insect breeding sites, use mosquito netting
 Wash in Pandemics
• Two elements of WASH interventions in response to epidemics:

i. Provision of Infection Prevention Control (IPC) measures in the

health care facilities

ii. An effective WASH outreach/hygiene promotion campaign in the

community.
 WASH Related Environmental Health
Interventions in Pandemics
i. Improving WASH infrastructure and services for water quantity and quality

ii. Improving environmental sanitation including excreta disposal, vector control

measures, etc.

iii. Provision of household water treatment and hygiene kits, and

iv. Conducting relevant campaigns on improving personal hygiene practices (on

behaviors and practices that are risks related to the outbreak).

 WASH and Gender in Pandemics

• Women are major stakeholders of WASH and during epidemics/pandemics. In most sub-
Saharan African countries, adult women were primarily responsible for water collection in all
the countries. Aside from the opportunity cost of time spent on water collection, women are
at a higher risk contracting water-related diseases.
• There are safety and security risks for women and girls that are relevant to water and
sanitation e.g. Women and girls have specific hygiene needs and need access to sanitary
products so as to maintain menstruation hygiene
WASH Principles for Disease Prevention
Safe Water Storage
Use clean containers to prevent contamination.

Handwashing
Critical moments include before eating and after toilet use.

Sanitation Infrastructure
Proper latrines reduce environmental pathogen spread.

Behavior Change
Effective communication fosters healthy hygiene habits.

Environmental Protection
Prevent wastewater and solid waste pollution.
 Discover simple habits that can prevent
illness and save lives.
1. Handwashing with Soap
Wash hands after using the toilet, before eating, and after
handling animals or waste.
Removes germs that cause diarrhea, respiratory infections,
and skin diseases.
Use clean water and soap—even ash can help if soap is not
available.
2. Drink Safe Water
Boil, filter, or treat water before drinking.
Store water in clean, covered containers.
Avoid drinking from rivers, ponds, or unclean sources.
3. Practice Food Safety
Wash fruits and vegetables.
Cook food thoroughly (especially meat, eggs,
and seafood).
Store leftovers properly to avoid food poisoning
4. Use Toilets and Dispose of Waste Properly
Always use a latrine or toilet.
Dispose of baby diapers and human waste
safely.
Avoid open defecation—it spreads disease.
5. Keep Your Surroundings Clean
Remove standing water (prevents mosquitoes and malaria).
Sweep, clean, and dispose of trash regularly.
Keep animals away from living and cooking areas.
 Benefits of a WASH program
1. 🏥 Improved Health and 2. 🚸 Better Child Growth
Disease Prevention and Development
Reduces waterborne diseases like
cholera, typhoid, and dysentery. Prevents malnutrition
Prevents diarrhea, which is a
caused by repeated infections
leading cause of death among (especially diarrhea).
children under five. Reduces stunting and
Controls the spread of neglected improves school readiness.
tropical diseases (NTDs) such as
trachoma and intestinal worms.
3. Enhanced Hygiene Practices 4. Improved Education
Outcomes
Promotes handwashing with
soap, menstrual hygiene, and Increases school attendance,
food safety. especially for girls, by providing
clean toilets and safe water.
Builds lifelong habits that reduce
the spread of communicable Reduces absenteeism caused by
diseases. illness or lack of menstrual
hygiene facilities
 Conclusion

Access to clean water and sanitation is a

fundamental human right for a healthy
and prosperous society.
Ensuring clean water and sanitation
requires collective efforts and sustained
investment.
By prioritizing clean water and
sanitation, we can improve lives, reduce
poverty, and create a more sustainable
future.
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 References
1. Sphere Association. The Sphere Handbook: Humanitarian Charter and Minimum
2. Standards in Humanitarian Response, fourth edition, Geneva, Switzerland, 2018.
3. www.spherestandards.org/handbook
4. Bartram, J. Cairncross, and S. “Hygiene, sanitation, and water: forgotten foundations of
health.” PLoS Med, vol. 7, 2010, e1000367.
5. Blanchet, K. et al. An Evidence Review of Research on Health Interventions in Humanitarian
Crises. LSHTM, Harvard School of Public Health, 2013. www.elrha.org
6. Campbell, O.M. Benova, L. et al. “Getting the basic rights: the role of water, sanitation and
hygiene in maternal and reproductive health: a conceptual framework.” Trop Med Int Health,
vol. 20, 2015, pp. 252-67.
7. Fewtrell, L. Kaufmann, et al. “Water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions to reduce diarrhoea
in less developed countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.” Lancet Infectious
Diseases, vol. 5, 2005, pp. 42-52. www.thelancet.com
8. Ministry of Health, (2013). Approaches to Health Care Waste Management, Health Workers
Guide 2nd ed
 Thank you for listening

do you have any questions?