WHO/Europe is convening a meeting of experts to scale up water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services in health-care facilities for safer, more equitable and more resilient health systems and quality of care. The event is organized under the auspices of the Protocol on Water and Health in partnership with the Ministry of Interior and the National Center for Public Health and Pharmacy of Hungary.
WASH services, including waste management and environmental cleaning in health-care facilities, are essential for ensuring universal health coverage and providing quality patient care. Improving and maintaining these services can enhance health-care delivery, uphold patient dignity, boost staff morale and improve working conditions. Their safe management is a precondition for strengthening infection prevention and control and emergency preparedness, and reducing the risk of antimicrobial resistance – ultimately lowering health-care costs.
Leveraging momentum for national and regional action
The meeting’s objective is to create a space for sharing experiences among countries in the Region, promoting leadership, and consolidating action to improve the quality of care and the climate resilience of health systems through improved WASH services.
The meeting aims to reaffirm and increase momentum for national actions, showcase best practices, and highlight enablers and challenges in the Region. It will support the scaling up and integration of WASH provisions into relevant health programming, including in the context of improving quality of care, building climate resilience and strengthening primary health care.
The outcomes will inform the development of an actionable framework for the Region, translating global and regional commitments into evidence-informed, tangible steps for Member States and partners.
A strong political mandate
WASH services in health-care facilities are a global priority. Over the past decade, policy attention has gained momentum, leading to resolutions by the World Health Assembly (2019) and the United Nations General Assembly (2023). These resolutions emphasize the need for accelerated action, cross-sectoral collaboration, and integration of adequate and sustainable WASH provisions into national health planning.
In the WHO European Region, Member States have committed to prioritizing universal access to essential services and ensuring quality care by improving WASH in health-care facilities, as emphasized in the Declaration of the Seventh Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health (held in Budapest in 2023) and as established as a regional priority under the Protocol on Water and Health.
Globally and regionally, WASH is increasingly recognized as a critical measure for infection prevention and control and for antimicrobial resistance, as reflected in recently adopted action plans and roadmaps. Despite these developments, progress in the Region remains inconsistent, with significant data gaps hindering a comprehensive understanding of the national and regional landscape of strengths and challenges.
Protocol on Water and Health
The Protocol on Water and Health is a legal, multilateral instrument jointly supported by WHO/Europe and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, with Hungary currently holding the chair. The work under the Protocol has been instrumental in prioritizing WASH services in health-care facilities at the regional level and driving progress in countries in the Region towards related global and regional targets.