Healthy Start Project-WASH in Health Care Facilities

Healthy Start Project-WASH in Health Care Facilities

Introduction

BASE (Backward Society Education) has been implementing Healthy Start Project; WASH in Health Care Facilities (HCFs) in Bardiya District of Province – 5 of Nepal since 2012. Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in health care facilities are prerequisites for people-centred care and delivering quality health service. The public health care facilities should be clean to provide safe health-care services, it increases trust and demand for services, improve an experience of care, strengthen staff morale and performance, and emphasize the role of staff as a role model for the community for setting community hygiene norms.

In the new constitution of Nepal (2015), there is the provision of clean drinking water as the fundamental rights for all. There is an enormous gap in translating this right into practice as the community people are not aware on these rights to water and sanitation. In addition, they do not have information where they should go to claim and how it will be claimed. Therefore, it is important to empower them to claim their rights as well as make citizens and duty bearers accountable.

In regard to WASH in HCF, the project is working with 8 local level governments in Bardiya district and stakeholders to influence integrating water, sanitation and hygiene in cross sector agendas mainly with Health. BASE through this project is applying integrated approach that enables better health of mother and child; access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene to marginalize and vulnerable communities in its working areas. And will also continue working with local government mainly during local level project planning and over the period of implementation of WASH improvement plan.

The project works mainly with health sector to implement actions that integrate water, sanitation and hygiene through WASH improvement plan. The project provides support to improve WASH facilities in all the 34 HCF in Bardiya district through capacity building members of HFOMC and municipal health coordinators and by supporting to implement WASH improvement plan for HCF. The project also capacitates the health workers who are key responsible persons to deliver hygiene messages to pregnant and lactating mothers (PLMs) during ANC/PNC counselling visit who are direct users of the hygiene activities. It is expected that the capacity development of health workers will support to achieve project outcomes more effectively and sustainable manner. The project is focused to showcase minimum WASH standards requirements in 8 HCFs as per the draft version of National standards Guideline of Nepal government for WASH in HCF.

The objective of this project is to Improved WASH Status in HCF support to deliver quality health services at birthing center benefited pregnant mothers and new-borns.

Major Activities:

• Construction of eight Model Child, Gender and Disability (CGD) friendly WASH Facilities in Health Care Facilities
• Hygiene promotional activities through mothers group to improve key hygiene behaviour
• Media program in hygiene session to deliver WASH message
• Onsite coaching and monitoring to health workers regarding WASH in HCFs
• Review meeting in WASH Improvement Plan with HFOMC
• Hygiene session counselling and record keeping
• Instalment of Water Quality Testing equipment’s in Health Care Facilities to test frequently water quality
• District level and Municipal level coordination and linkage