As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to threaten our global community, work to bring clean water, decent sanitation and good hygiene to everyone, everywhere has never been more critical. Thanks to our supporters and partners across the world, we're using our 40 years of experience to increase access to these vital needs for the most vulnerable people.
We're working across 28 countries to share the crucial hygiene messages we must all follow to keep each other safe from coronavirus, and to provide lasting access to water, sanitation and hygiene essentials, so people can defend against and build resilience to COVID-19 and other contagious diseases.
As the pandemic continues to escalate, we need to do even more right now in countries with already fragile health systems, to protect as many of those most at risk as possible and prevent a humanitarian catastrophe.
Will you support our response and help people who urgently need clean water, decent sanitation and good hygiene?
Useful links
Read FAQs answered by our hygiene experts
Read our latest blogs on COVID-19
Explore our hygiene resources and activities for kids
Visit the COVID-19 Hygiene Hub for practitioners' information sharing, led by our partners LSHTM
See coronavirus updates from WHO
See the latest COVID-19 statistics from Johns Hopkins University
What we're doing
- We’re protecting the most vulnerable people 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’re promoting best practices for protecting against coronavirus through mass public hygiene behaviour change campaigns, reaching more than 99 million people so far.
- We’re helping water, sanitation and hygiene service providers to ensure no one loses access during the pandemic.
- We’re supporting governments in coordination of COVID-19 responses, and to identify the groups most at risk.
- We’re building long-term resilience to pandemics by strengthening the systems that ensure lasting, inclusive services.
- We're campaigning for governments and donors to prioritise and fund getting services to everyone, especially the most vulnerable.
Find out more about our phased programmatic response.
Read our regular 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 are supporting 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’re ramping up our hygiene campaign to reach 3.5 million people across seven regions. Working with the Government, we’re providing 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're taking 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 are reaching 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’re running a hygiene behaviour change campaign; installing 20 handwashing facilities in health centres and public spaces; rehabilitating 17 boreholes to increase water supply in rural areas; and supporting 500 women to make soap.
Ethiopia
We’re working 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’re working 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 have run 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’re making vulnerable communities and health and isolation centres safer with handwashing facilities and water; supporting coordination of the COVID-19 response; and advocating that the Government prioritise and invest in water, sanitation and hygiene.
Madagascar
We’re working with Government and civil society to prioritise water, sanitation and hygiene in a coordinated response. We’re curbing the spread through hygiene campaigns and putting handwashing stations in markets, homeless shelters and health centres.
Malawi
We’re lobbying the Government to prioritise water, hygiene and sanitation services in its response (including supporting water service providers) and aiding provision and assessment of where these are missing in health facilities, schools and communities.
Mali
We're working 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’re promoting hygiene online and on radio stations; advocating better water access; reaching those lacking internet via a mobile campaign; and, with public and private partners, installing handwashing facilities in markets, schools and health centres.
Myanmar
We ran an innovative hygiene behaviour change campaign, including wide media, reaching 4 million people. We’re providing handwashing stations, soap and hand sanitiser in public areas, health centres and schools, and PPE for cleaners at quarantine centres.
Nepal
We’re supporting water service providers to ensure continued water access, and coordinating with other organisations for an effective response. We’re supporting a national hygiene campaign through mass media and integration with routine immunisations.
Niger
We are supporting the Government in their COVID-19 response; disseminating COVID-19 prevention messages across media; and distributing handwashing facilities, soap and hand sanitiser to health clinics and people in open defecation free villages.
Nigeria
We’re advocating Government expansion of sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene services in at-risk communities. We’ve grown our hygiene campaign to reach 6 million people and put contactless handwashing facilities in health centres and public areas.
Pakistan
We’re spreading hygiene messages in local languages through radio, TV and local cable; installing handwashing facilities in hospitals and public places; and building inclusive public toilets that meet menstrual hygiene management and sanitation needs.
Papua New Guinea
We are supporting Government to lead COVID-19 awareness, promoting hygiene in communities and schools to reach more than 47,500 people. We’re supporting local women to make soap; dispelling myths; and promoting inclusion for people with disabilities.
Rwanda
We’re expanding our hygiene campaign and working with Government so health centres and schools have safe water, toilets and hygiene; and calling for increased, targeted investment in water, sanitation and hygiene to build long-term resilience to COVID-19.
Senegal
We are working with partners and Government on a coordinated response; strengthening COVID-19 prevention in communities with key messaging in six local languages; and providing hygiene kits for informal Islamic schools and at-risk groups.
Sierra Leone
We’re spreading key behaviour change messages in communities to prevent spread of COVID-19, in support of Government efforts to increase hygiene promotion. We’re providing health facilities and schools with handwashing stations, hand sanitiser and soap.
South Africa
We’re working 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’re scaling up our hygiene campaign through radio, SMS, television and social media; working on safe management of toilet waste; and advocating prioritisation of water, sanitation and hygiene services in the national response plan, including in schools.
Timor Leste
We’re supporting the Government with inclusive and empowering hygiene promotion and training rural health workers on water, sanitation and hygiene. We’re strengthening municipal governments’ taskforces and response plans alongside local rights groups.
Uganda
Together with water service providers, we're extending vital water supplies to urban slums in Kampala. We're supporting the Government to plan water supply provision for healthcare facilities, and advocating that both of these continue after the pandemic.
Zambia
We’re ramping up our hygiene campaign; designing wheelchair-accessible handwashing stations; identifying at-risk groups in densely populated areas for targeted support; and advocating that the Government response prioritises water, sanitation and hygiene.
Read our latest 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?
