WASH in Healthcare Facilities
COVID-19 is reminding us all of the critical role of hygiene in healthcare facilities. World Vision is a global leader in providing hygiene, sanitation, and water in healthcare facilities and has a commitment to reach 800 rural health care facilities between 2019-2021. We’re on track, having reached 399 during the first year of our commitment.
This work is life-saving because one-half of the healthcare facilities in the areas where World Vision works do not have water or soap for washing hands, which creates a very high risk of spreading infectious disease - including sickness from COVID-19. We’ve prepared a new brochure describing this work. You can access it here.
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World Vision's Response in the Middle East
Some of the most vulnerable people to COVID-19 live in the Middle East. The war in Afghanistan, the longest war in US history, and the war in Syria, which just surpassed nine years, have created enormous humanitarian need. In response, World Vision’s efforts in the Middle East are focused on Afghanistan, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq.
Syria is the world’s largest displacement crisis of our day with nearly 12 million Syrians in need of humanitarian assistance and more than 5 million Syrians living as refugees in neighboring countries. Violence in northwest Syria escalated this December resulting in nearly 1 million people fleeing their homes. The resulting camps are in critical need of food, shelter, health care, water, sanitation, and hygiene services (WASH), which is the focus of World Vision’s response.
As COVID-19 cases are now appearing in Syria, there is fear of spread among this already vulnerable population. In response, World Vision is ramping up our WASH and health efforts, which includes supporting two hospitals, two primary health clinics, and 10 mobile medical teams.
World Vision is responding directly in Syria by providing emergency water supplies reaching more than 328,000 people in 2019 and with emergency sanitation services reaching more than 100,000 people. Since December, our teams created nine water stations and brought water in by trucks to reach more than 55,000 internally displaced persons across eight camps. In some areas, we’ve also been able to repair municipal water supply systems that were damaged during conflict. We’ve done this work primarily in Iraq and Syria, reaching nearly half a million people in 2019.
In Afghanistan, peace seems possible and World Vision’s response has focused more on providing permanent water sources in communities. In 2019, we reached more than 100,000 people with clean water. Afghan culture is such that hygiene habits are taught by mothers, but the years of conflict have resulted in many mothers never having learned these skills themselves. So, World Vision has created a program to help empower schoolgirls by teaching them healthy hygiene habits and how to share the habits with their families. The WASH UP! program in partnership with Sesame Street has been part of this effort. In addition, awareness raising campaigns helped more than 280,000 people in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Lebanon develop good hygiene habits. These efforts will be critical in reducing the spread of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.
World Vision knows that working towards gender equity will be a powerful tool to rebuild the Middle East. In Afghanistan, our water efforts are led by Rosanna Keam and her team, including, Masouma Rasouli, a strong female role model and Afghan water engineer. Masouma is a wonderful example of the resiliency of Afghan women. Here’s her story – hope in an area with great needs.
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