WaterAid cohosts the "National Workshop on WASH in Health Care Facilities in Bangladesh: Call for Joint Action"

The first ever "National Workshop on WASH in Health Care Facilities in Bangladesh: Call for Joint Action" was held on 12 December 2017. The event brought together key people from the WASH and health sectors under one roof, in an interest of reviewing the country's status of WASH in Health Care Facilities (HCFs) and identifying the key challenges faced. 

The event was hosted by Directorate General of Health Services, in collaboration with Department of Public Health, UNICEF, WHO, Plan International, Terres des Hommes, Care, World Bank, and WaterAid Bangladesh.

The day long event hosted an advocacy workshop through which key policy makers, development partners and sector actors worked together to formulate recommendations for joint action on WASH in HCFs, in order to ensure universal access and improved quality of care throughout the country.

Part of a technical session at this key advocacy workshop, Dr. Md. Khairul Islam, Country Director of WaterAid Bangladesh led a discussion on ways to achieve the five objectives of the Global Action Plan from a Bangladesh Perspective.

The discussion prevailed on how everyone together can work towards ensuring safely managed reliable water, sanitation and hygiene facilities and practices to meet the needs of people most in need of it. Setting service standards, mannaging finances and monitoring activities in community clinics, Union Health and Family Welfare Centres, Upazila Health Complexes, District hospitals were also key to this session.

WaterAid Bangladesh is proud to have cohosted this initiative and is positive by the widespread interest visible across government and civil society on this critical but neglected issue, further looking to take forward the Healthy Start campaign with a renewed momentum with the help of colleagues and health and WASH sector actors.