LIBERIA: WaterAid Liberia Calls on GoL to prioritize funding allocation in clean water…
….and hygiene to prevent the spread of Covid -19 and save lives, as Liberia joins the world to observe Global Handwashing Day, October 15, 2020
On Global Handwashing Day, WaterAid Liberia is calling on the government to double its investment in clean water and hygiene to help prevent the spread of Covid-19 and save lives.
The 2020 Global Handwashing Day theme, “Hand Hygiene for All”, is a call to action to make hand hygiene a reality for all. The current COVID-19 pandemic highlights the critical role hand hygiene plays in disease transmission and provides a stark reminder that one of the most effective ways to stop the spread of a virus is also one of the simplest: hand hygiene, especially through handwashing with soap.
To beat the virus today and ensure better health outcomes beyond the pandemic, handwashing with soap must be a priority now and in the future. The theme reminds us of the need to take immediate action on hand hygiene across all public and private settings to respond and control the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hand hygiene must become everybody’s business. It also reminds us of the need to build on the current momentum to make hand hygiene a mainstay in public health interventions beyond the pandemic and create a culture of hand hygiene.
About 47% of the 4,460 schools in Liberia do not have access to functional water supply systems/facilities 39% lack sanitation facilities, 41% have no access to hygiene services; moreover, 82% have no permanent hand-washing facilities
Frequent handwashing with soap is one of the most effective ways of preventing the spread of Covid-19. Without this frontline defence, the risk of the virus spreading in communities is greater.
To make matters worse, in Liberia thousands of children and young people across the country miss lessons to walk long distances to collect water or use bushes in the school grounds to go to the toilet. But due to a continued lack of clean water and soap, children are not only exposed to this disease, they risk spreading it among other members of their community, while those forced to stay home will miss out on vital education.
Globally, 3 billion people are living without somewhere to wash their hands with clean water and soap at home and one in four health centres lack these basic facilities on site. In Nigeria, only 7% of healthcare facilities have combined water, sanitation and hygiene access. Without clean water, good hygiene and sanitation, health centres, the very places which are supposed to make you better and keep you well, are at high risk of becoming breeding grounds for Covid-19. Healthcare workers are staring down this disease without the facilities needed to protect themselves and their patients. Despite this, less than 1% of the funding for responding to Covid-19 has been invested in scaling up access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene.
This Global Handwashing Day, WaterAid Liberia is joining with thousands of others through its celebrity-backed Art of Change competition to call for governments to act by bringing clean water and hygiene to everyone. The competition was launched in July this year on the 10-year anniversary of water and sanitation being recognised by the United Nations General Assembly as vital human rights, which should be afforded to every person. It attracted 285 artists across 44 countries who produced inspiring artwork on the theme of water and hygiene to help use their art as a force for good and make the voices of millions heard on this important issue
Today, WaterAid has announced that the powerful winning Art of Change piece, chosen by the public, ‘Clean water saves lives’ will now be presented to government leaders across the world, together with a letter of support, urging them to make sure everyone has water and hygiene to defend themselves and their communities against diseases – including Covid-19.
Access to water, sanitation and hygiene services are fundamental to improving lives, health, livelihoods, gender equality, education outcomes and for driving economic and sustainable development. Now, more than ever, the basic human rights to these essential services must be upheld, with particular attention given to the poorest, most vulnerable and marginalised segments of the population who are most vulnerable to infectious diseases such as COVID-19, in order to ensure that we truly leave no one behind.
Chuchu Selma, Country Director of WaterAid Liberia said:
“It is unacceptable that in the midst of the global Covid-19 pandemic – where clean water and hygiene offer a vital first line of defence against the disease – over 4.5 million people in Liberia are still living without basic handwashing facilities. How can they protect themselves adequately from this and other deadly diseases?
“As thousands of people across the world demonstrate their support, we are urgently calling on our government to listen and double investment in clean water and hygiene so that everyone, including the most vulnerable in our society, have the chance of a healthy and secure future.”
NG: Key messages:
The problem:
Governments keep telling us to wash our hands to prevent the spread of Covid-19. But what if you can’t? Today, on Global Handwashing Day, a shocking three billion people have no-where to wash their hands with soap and water at home, despite this being one of the only ways currently to prevent the spread of the deadly disease.
Governments have been quick to promote hand hygiene and handwashing to prevent the spread of Covid-19. But they have failed to acknowledge that this is impossible for the three billion people around the world who lack clean water and soap in their homes, and for millions of frontline health workers and their patients in clinics and hospitals.
Clean water and soap are a key measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19, yet one in four health care centres lack clean water and 40 percent of centres lack hand hygiene facilities, which puts millions of health workers and patients’ lives at risk.
Without a vaccine for COVID-19, people are reliant on good hygiene and infection prevention and control to stop the spread. With three billion people lacking clean water and soap, and one in four health care facilities lacking clean water, lives are being put at risk every day because the very basics of disease prevention are being ignored.
As children around the world go back to school, many won’t be able to wash their hands. Globally, two in five schools lack basic handwashing facilities, and one in three have limited or no water supply.
COVID-19 is showing how critical it is for everyone, everywhere to have access to water and hygiene. It is up to governments to take this unique opportunity to make sure everyone everywhere lives in healthy, equitable, productive and resilient societiesthat work for both people and the planet.
Why invest in WASH:
The World Health Organisation recommends regular handwashing with soap and water, together with physical distancing, as a vital first line of defence against COVID-19 and other highly contagious diseases. This makes water, sanitation and hygiene services indispensable elements of preventive and primary healthcare.
Good hygiene is essential to a resilient health system, and public health is impossible without clean water and soap.
WASH is a best-buy for building resilient communities: Every $1 invested in WASH brings estimated returns of $5.5 in Sub-Saharan Africa and $2.8 in South Asia.
The solution:
Governments around the world must take urgent action to provide clean water and hygiene services to those most in need to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and support countries to build back resilient, healthy, equitable and productive, societies.
Governments must urgently double their investment in water and hygiene to address immediate gaps in COVID-19 responses and build sustainable WASH services as part of their recovery plans.
Key stats about handwashing:
120 million of people in West Africa don’t have access to soap and water to wash their hands.
One in four health centres lack these basic facilities on site.
School stat – 74% of schools in Sub Saharan do not have soap and water available to students –
295 Million in Sub Saharan Countries of school age students lacked basic handwashing service
Key messages about the Art of Change campaign:
Governments keep telling us to wash our hands to prevent the spread of Covid-19. But 3 billion people don’t have access to clean water and soap. With lives at risk, this urgently needs to be addressed.
Today on Global Handwashing Day, 40,000 people are calling on world leaders to double their investment in water and hygiene in their covid-19 response. This includes 285 artists from 44 countries, and tens of thousands of people who have signed up to WaterAid’s Art of Change competition.
Back in July, artists Grayson Perry and Jean Jullien, photographer Aida Muluneh, and actor Russell Tovey called on artists to use their creative skills as a force for good by producing inspiring work linked to the theme of water and health.
There were over 285 entries from 44 countries. Tens of thousands of people voted for their favourite entry, and WaterAid can now reveal that the winner of its Art of Change campaign is Holly Thomas!
Holy Thomas will be presented to world leaders – from the UK to India to demand change and double their investment in water and hygiene.
