When the COVID-19 pandemic threatened our global community, our work to bring clean water, decent sanitation and good hygiene to everyone, everywhere was never more critical. Thanks to our supporters and partners across the world, we used our 40 years of experience to increase access to these vital needs to people living with the greatest poverty.
We worked across 28 countries to share the crucial hygiene messages we all had to follow to keep each other safe from coronavirus, and to provide lasting access to water, sanitation and hygiene essentials, so people could defend against and build resilience to COVID-19 and other contagious diseases.
As the pandemic escalated, so did our work in countries with already fragile health systems, to protect as many of those most at risk as possible and prevent a humanitarian catastrophe.
Useful links
Read FAQs answered by our hygiene experts
Explore our hygiene resources and activities for kids
Visit the COVID-19 Hygiene Hub for practitioners' information sharing, led by our partners LSHTM
See World Health Organization COVID-19 information
See the latest COVID-19 statistics from Johns Hopkins University
What we did
- We protected the people most vulnerable to COVID-19 by installing handwashing facilities and ensuring access to essentials like soap, water, hand sanitiser and disinfectant in healthcare centres, densely populated places and rural areas.
- We promoted best practices for protecting against coronavirus through mass public hygiene behaviour change campaigns, reaching more than 99 million people.
- We helped water, sanitation and hygiene service providers to ensure no one lost access during the pandemic.
- We supported governments to coordinate COVID-19 responses, and to identify the groups most at risk.
- We built long-term resilience to future pandemics by strengthening the systems that ensure lasting, inclusive services.
- We campaigned for governments and donors to prioritise and fund getting services to everyone, especially those most vulnerable to COVID-19.
Find out more about our phased programmatic response.
Read our situation reports, summarising our teams' work across the world up to August 2020.
Tune into a special interactive radio report hosted by Beatrice Phiri: meet Chris and Patricia, two everyday heroes championing good hygiene in their communities to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Use the interactive map to see some highlights of our COVID-19 response around the world:
Our response across the world
Bangladesh
Together with local leaders, Government and development partners we supported people living in urban slums and rural communities to reduce transmission, with vital hygiene and physical distancing messages, disinfection and handwashing provisions.
Burkina Faso
We ramped up our hygiene campaign to reach 3.5 million people across seven regions. Working with the Government, we provided handwashing facilities and soap for toilets in schools and health centres to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Cambodia
With Government and private sector, we took COVID-19 prevention messages to communities, with tailored messages for people with disabilities. We assessed hygiene knowledge and needs in 44 health centres to help officials plan for COVID-19 prevention.
Colombia
We reached indigenous populations in their native language with handwashing stations and hygiene messages. After the nationwide lockdown, we returned to provide sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene services for households and schools.
eSwatini
With Government we ran a hygiene behaviour change campaign; installed 20 handwashing facilities in health centres and public spaces; rehabilitated 17 boreholes to increase water supply in rural areas; and supported 500 women to make soap.
Ethiopia
We worked with the Government to provide essential handwashing materials and emergency water tanks in healthcare facilities and COVID-19 isolation centres, and to roll out a national hygiene and sanitation behaviour change campaign.
Ghana
We worked with Government to protect health staff and patients by scaling up hygiene campaigns, providing handwashing facilities and PPE, training staff and advocating disability-inclusive water, sanitation and hygiene facilities in public places.
India
We ran a campaign using digital images/posters, audio messages and video in six Indian languages and English, disseminated through text messages, WhatsApp, community radio, local TV channels and loudspeakers in communities.
Japan
Our team in Japan's awareness campaign to demonstrate the importance of water during the pandemic saw six major buildings across the country light up blue, including Tokyo Big Sight.
Liberia
We made communities and health and isolation centres safer with handwashing facilities and water; supported coordination of the COVID-19 response; and advocated that the Government prioritise and invest in water, sanitation and hygiene.
Madagascar
We worked with Government and civil society to prioritise water, sanitation and hygiene in a coordinated response. We curbed the spread through hygiene campaigns and putting handwashing stations in markets, homeless shelters and health centres.
Malawi
We influenced the Government to prioritise water, hygiene and sanitation services in its response (including supporting water service providers) and aided provision and assessment of where these are missing in health facilities, schools and communities.
Mali
We worked with Government to strengthen COVID-19 prevention in health centres by rolling out a hygiene campaign; providing kits including handwashing stations and soap; and supporting inclusion of COVID-19 in infection prevention and control training.
Mozambique
We promoted hygiene online and on radio stations; advocated better water access; reached those lacking internet via a mobile campaign; and, with public and private partners, installed handwashing facilities in markets, schools and health centres.
Myanmar
We ran an innovative hygiene behaviour change campaign, including national media, reaching 4 million people. We provided handwashing stations, soap and hand sanitiser in public areas, health centres and schools, and PPE for cleaners at quarantine centres.
Nepal
We supported water service providers to ensure continued water access, and coordinated with other organisations for an effective response. We supported a national hygiene campaign through mass media and integration with routine immunisations.
Niger
We supported the Government in their COVID-19 response; disseminated COVID-19 prevention messages across media; and distributed handwashing facilities, soap and hand sanitiser to health clinics and people in open defecation free villages.
Nigeria
We advocated Government expansion of sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene services in at-risk communities. We grew our hygiene campaign to reach 6 million people and put contactless handwashing facilities in health centres and public areas.
Pakistan
We spread hygiene messages in local languages through radio, TV and local cable; installed handwashing facilities in hospitals and public places; and built inclusive public toilets that met menstrual hygiene management and sanitation needs.
Papua New Guinea
We supported Government to lead COVID-19 awareness campaigns, promoting hygiene in communities and schools to reach more than 47,500 people. We supported local women to make soap; dispelled COVID myths; and promoted inclusion of people with disabilities.
Rwanda
We expanded our hygiene campaign and worked with Government so health centres and schools have safe water, toilets and hygiene; and called for increased, targeted investment in water, sanitation and hygiene to build long-term resilience to COVID-19.
Senegal
We worked with partners and Government on a coordinated response; strengthened COVID-19 prevention in communities with key messaging in six local languages; and provided hygiene kits for informal Islamic schools and at-risk groups.
Sierra Leone
We promoted key behaviour change messages in communities to prevent the spread of COVID-19, in support of Government efforts to increase hygiene promotion. We provided health facilities and schools with handwashing stations, hand sanitiser and soap.
South Africa
We worked to protect at-risk people, women, girls and disabled groups through targeted hygiene messages, installing handwashing facilities and campaigning for Government to provide free menstrual hygiene products during COVID-19.
Tanzania
We scaled up our hygiene campaign through radio, SMS, television and social media; worked on safe management of toilet waste; and advocated prioritisation of water, sanitation and hygiene services in the national response plan, including in schools.
Timor Leste
We supported the Government with inclusive and empowering hygiene promotion and trained rural health workers on water, sanitation and hygiene. We strengthened municipal governments’ taskforces and response plans alongside local rights groups.
Uganda
Together with water service providers, we extended vital water supplies to urban slums in Kampala. We supported the Government to plan water supply provision for healthcare facilities, and advocated that both initiatives continue after the pandemic.
Zambia
We ramped up our hygiene campaign; designed wheelchair-accessible handwashing stations; identified at-risk groups in densely populated areas for targeted support; and advocated that the Government response prioritised water, sanitation and hygiene.
Read our COVID-19 blogs
Hear from our practitioners
How can we bring equality and inclusion principles, human rights, global finance, and sustainable water services together to reach everyone, everywhere with life-saving water and hygiene?
