Health Clean Water

Access to clean water is crucial for any healthcare clinic

Written by World Vision Staff on May 18, 2023 9:12:05 AM

Hospitals and healthcare clinics are intended to be safe places. Patients seek medical treatment, determined to find relief and restoration. But when there is no water in such facilities, or the water is unsanitary, a visit for any reason can prove dangerous if not deadly.

The need is striking. Of the healthcare clinics in the areas where World Vision works:

  • Half do not have access to clean water
  • 5 out of 6 do not have basic handwashing facilities with soap and water

This lack of access to clean water means many expecting mothers are required to bring their own water to wash themselves and their newborns after giving birth. Not surprisingly, infections spread under these conditions.

Fueled by prayer and the generosity of our donor partners, World Vision serves the most vulnerable people with the love and care of Jesus — and we continue to make improvements in the places where we work. But high rates of maternal and newborn deaths continue.

The most basic needs for running water and handwashing facilities remain unmet in many places. Your help is urgently needed to equip healthcare facilities with clean water.

 

In Niger, a woman holds her newborn son, waiting on a bed to be seen by a doctor.

Haoua gave birth to a healthy son at Boulounguéy Health Center in Niger.

Meet Haoua

Pregnant with her fourth child, Haoua woke early one morning with intense stomach pain. With the onset of labor, she set off on foot to Boulounguéy Health Center in Niger to deliver her baby.

With the clinic sorely lacking basic resources, she was forced to bring a metal bucket filled with extra clothes, a mat to lie on during delivery, a cloth to wipe up her blood, and a tea kettle full of water for cleaning — items all expectant mothers are required to supply themselves.

To pay for her child’s birth, she also brought along $2.34, a large sum in a country where nearly 42% of people live in extreme poverty and earn less than $2.15 per day.

With the help of Dr. Zakaria and Roukaya, a nurse at the clinic, Haoua gave birth to a healthy son. While thankful, Haoua is hoping that conditions improve at the center.

“The next time I come, I want to see water and latrines,” she says.

 

Clean water changes everything

A doctor in Niger washes her hands in a sanitary sink before seeing patients.

Dr. Idrissa washes her hands in a sanitary sink before seeing patients at the Kargui Bangou Health Clinic, which World Vision helped outfit with clean water, plumbing, bathrooms, electricity, and more.

Meanwhile, at the Kargui Bangou Health Clinic in Niger, challenges have been overcome thanks to the generosity of donor partners like you.

Dr. Idrissa can keep her hands clean before and after seeing patients, thanks to a sink in the examining room. There is also now a place for women to wash their clothes after giving birth. It is much safer for expectant mothers to deliver their babies.

“Now with World Vision, I just want to stay here,” says Dr. Idrissa. “Now that there is water in the delivery room, we do deliveries with no problem. We clean everything in a few minutes.”

Make a difference in underserved communities

With your help, we can come alongside them in Jesus’ name to offer life-saving care.

Together, we can equip health clinics with clean water, handwashing stations, toilets, electricity, and showers; provide critical medical equipment and supplies; and train more community health workers.

Please prayerfully consider supporting this life-saving work by giving a gift today. World Vision reaches more health centers with clean water, handwashing facilities, infection prevention protocols, and training of healthcare workers than any other nongovernmental organization.

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