Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene in Rural Health-Care Facilities

The Aquagenx CBT Kit for E. coli was used in this study published by the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Safe and sufficient water, sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH) prevent the spread of disease in health-care facilities (HCFs). Little research has been conducted on WaSH in HCF in sub-Saharan Africa. The authors carried out a cross-sectional study of WaSH in 1,318 randomly selected rural HCF (hospitals, health centers, health posts, and clinics) in regions throughout Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zambia. Methods included questionnaires with head doctors and nurses to document WaSH access, continuity, quality, quantity and reliability, and analysis of drinking water samples for Escherichia coli. They found that fewer than 50% of rural HCFs had access to improved water sources on premises, improved sanitation, and consistent access to water and soap for handwashing (Ethiopia [7%), Kenya [30%], Mozambique [29%], Rwanda [50%], Uganda [30%], and Zambia [21%]). Adequate hand hygiene reduces disease transmission and health-care-acquired infections, but fewer than 25% of HCF in each country reported that a combination of water, soap, and hand-drying materials were always available. Their research points to a lack of basic WaSH services in rural HCFs in regions of sub-Saharan Africa, which poses a threat to the health of patients and health-care workers in these settings