Continuity of key water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure and WASH practices-for example, hand hygiene-are among several critical community preventive and mitigation measures to reduce transmission of infectious diseases, including COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases. WASH guidance for COVID-19 prevention may combine existing WASH standards and new COVID-19 guidance. Many existing WASH tools can also be modified for targeted WASH assessments during the COVID-19 pandemic. We partnered with local organizations to develop and deploy tools to assess WASH conditions and practices and subsequently implement, monitor, and evaluate WASH interventions to mitigate COVID-19 in low- and middle-income countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and Africa, focusing on healthcare, community institution, and household settings and hand hygiene specifically. Employing mixed-methods assessments, we observed gaps in access to hand hygiene materials specifically despite most of those settings having access to improved, often onsite, water supplies. Across countries, adherence to hand hygiene among healthcare providers was about twice as high after patient contact compared to before patient contact. Poor or non-existent management of handwashing stations and alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR) was common, especially in community institutions. Markets and points of entry (internal or external border crossings) represent congregation spaces, critical for COVID-19 mitigation, where globally-recognized WASH standards are needed. Development, evaluation, deployment, and refinement of new and existing standards can help ensure WASH aspects of community mitigation efforts that remain accessible and functional to enable inclusive preventive behaviors.

The Somali Region of Ethiopia has been affected by drought for several years. Drought conditions have led to food and water scarcity and a humanitarian crisis in the region. In January 2017, an outbreak of acute watery diarrhea (AWD) was declared in the region. AWD prevention and control activities include strengthening water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services. Access to safe drinking water is critical in preventing transmission of AWD and chlorine is an effective chemical to disinfect water supplies. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collaborated with the WASH Cluster and the United Nations Children’s Fund, Ethiopia, to provide technical assistance to the Somali Regional Water Bureau to improve chlorination of drinking water supplies and quickly assess water quality improvements in Jijiga town, Fafan Zone. Timely sharing of surveillance and case investigation data allowed for the identification of gaps within the water supply system in Jijiga and implementation of centralized and decentralized chlorination interventions and monitoring systems. Pilot use of a rapid assessment to determine residual chlorine levels at various points in the city helped improve chlorination intervention impact. This work illustrates that rapid community-level water quality improvements can be implemented and assessed quickly to improve interventions during outbreaks.

During September 5–6, 2018, a total of 52 patients in Harare, Zimbabwe, were hospitalized with suspected cholera, an acute bacterial infection characterized by watery diarrhea. Rapid diagnostic testing was positive for Vibrio cholerae O1, and on September 6, Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Health and Child Care (MOHCC) declared an outbreak of cholera. From September 4, 2018, (date of the first reported cases) through March 12, 2019, a total of 10,730 cases and 69 (0.64%) deaths were reported nationally from nine of Zimbabwe’s 10 provinces (Figure). Most cases (94%) were reported from Harare Province, the country’s largest province, with a population of approximately 2 million.

In August 2015, an outbreak of cholera was reported in Tanzania. In cholera-affected areas of urban Dar es Salaam and Morogoro, many households obtained drinking water from vendors, who sold water from tanks ranging in volume from 1,000 to 20,000 L. Water supplied by vendors was not adequately chlorinated. The Tanzanian Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children and the U.N. Children's Fund, Tanzania, collaborated to enroll and train vendors to treat their water with 8.68-g sodium dichloroisocyanurate tablets. The CDC provided monitoring and evaluation support. Vendors were provided a 3-month supply of chlorine tablets. A baseline assessment and routine monitoring were conducted by ward environmental health officers. Approximately 3 months after chlorine tablet distribution, an evaluation of the program was conducted. The evaluation included a full enumeration of all vendors, an in-depth survey with half of the vendors enumerated, and focus group discussions. In total, 797 (88.9%) vendors were included in the full enumeration and 392 in the in-depth survey. Free residual chlorine (FRC) was detected in 12.0% of tanks at baseline and 69.6% of tanks during the evaluation; however, only 17.4% of these tanks had FRC >/= 0.5 mg/L. The results suggest high acceptability and use of the chlorine tablets by water vendors. However, given variation in the water source used and longer storage times, dosing could be increased in future programming. Bulk chlorination using chlorine tablets offers an efficient community-level approach to treating water closer to the point of use.

The PackH2O water backpack carrier was developed to provide safe storage and relieve stress of head-loading during water transport with traditional containers such as buckets and jerry cans. We conducted an evaluation to assess both self-reported and observed use over a 6-month period between November 2014 and May 2015. A total of 866 packs were distributed to 618 households in six communities in rural Haiti, and 431 and 441 households were surveyed at midline and end line, respectively. We performed linear regression to assess change of self-reported use over time. Although 79.3% of respondents reported continued use of the 20-L pack after 6 months, other measures of self-reported use were low, with only 16.8% reporting to have used the pack the last time they collected water and 10.3% preferring the pack over other water collection containers. In addition, only 10.2% of all people collecting water at community sources were observed using packs and 12.0% of all households surveyed had water in the pack at the time of visit. Pack use varied by community and demographics. Although women were targeted during distribution, men preferred the pack and were more commonly observed using it at the community water sources. In conclusion, the use of the PackH2O was not widely adopted in rural Haiti; however, further research is needed to assess the pack acceptance in areas where back-loading is more common and in emergency settings.

Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services in healthcare facilities are essential to ensure quality health care and to facilitate infection, prevention, and control practices. They are critical to responding to outbreaks and preventing healthcare-associated infections and, therefore, critical to global health security. Many healthcare facilities in low- and middle-income settings have limited WASH services. One tool to address this issue is the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Water and Sanitation for Health Facility Improvement Tool, or "WASH FIT." WASH FIT is a continuous improvement tool based on key WHO environmental health and infection, prevention, and control standards. While using WASH FIT, internal teams regularly perform self-assessments at their facilities, using up to 65 WASH indicators to develop and implement an improvement plan. The Ministry of Health and Social Protection (MSPS) in Togo, with support from WHO and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), piloted this tool in 3 healthcare facilities. The pilot included facility assessments at 3 time points and in-depth interviews and document review 7 months after initiating WASH FIT. Facilities made improvements without significant external financial or material support. On average, pilot facilities improved from 18% of total indicators meeting standards at baseline to 44% after 7 months. Examples included improved drinking water supply, medical waste segregation, and increased soap at handwashing stations. Participants reported improvements in staff and patient satisfaction, hand hygiene, and occupational safety. Findings suggest that WASH FIT, coupled with training and supervision, may help facilities improve WASH services and practices, thus contributing to global health security. Based on these findings, the Togolese MSPS plans to scale up nationwide. Les services d'eau, d'assainissement, et d'hygiene (WASH) dans les etablissements de sante sont essentiels pour assurer des soins de qualite et faciliter les pratiques de prevention et controle des infections. Ils sont essentiels pour repondre aux epidemies et prevenir les infections associees aux soins de sante, et donc a la securite sanitaire mondiale. De nombreux pays a revenu faible ou intermediaire ont des services WASH limites dans les etablissements de soins. Un outil recemment publie pour remedier cette situation est l'outil WASH FIT [Water and Sanitation for Health Facility Improvement Tool] de l'Organisation mondiale de la Sante (OMS) et le Fonds des Nations Unies (UNICEF) pour l'amelioration de l'eau et l'assainissement dans les formations sanitaires. WASH FIT est un outil d'amelioration continue base sur les normes de l'OMS en matiere de sante environnementale et de prevention et controle des infections. Lors de l'utilisation de WASH FIT, les equipes internes effectuent regulierement des auto-evaluations dans leurs installations en utilisant jusqu'a 65 indicateurs pour elaborer et mettre en oeuvre leur plan d'amelioration. Le ministere de la Sante et de la Protection Sociale (MSPS) du Togo, avec le soutien de l'OMS et les Centres pour le controle et la prevention des maladies (CDC), a fait un pilotage de cet outil dans 3 centres de sante. Ce pilotage comprenait 3 evaluations dans chaque formation sanitaire, des interviews approfondies, et une revue documentaire, 7 mois apres l'initiation du WASH FIT. Les formations sanitaires ont realise des progres, sans aide financiere ou materielle exterieure. En moyenne, les formations sanitaires sont passees de 18% des indicateurs atteignant les standards au depart, a 44% apres 7 mois. Les exemples incluent l'approvisionnement en eau potable, le tri des dechets medicaux, et le savon aux points de lavage des mains. Les participants ont signale des ameliorations dans la satisfaction du personnel et des patients, l'hygiene des mains, et la securite au travail. Les resultats indiquent que WASH FIT, associe a la formation et a la supervision, pourrait etre un outil pour aider les formations sanitaires a ameliorer les services et pratiques WASH, contribuant ainsi a la securite sanitaire mondiale. Sur la base de ces resultats, le MSPS prevoit une extension a l'echelle nationale.

On January 16, 2018, the Zimbabwe Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) was notified of five adults with watery diarrhea and severe dehydration who were admitted to Chegutu District Hospital, Mashonaland West Province. Three of the five patients died within hours of admission. Vibrio cholerae O1 serotype Ogawa was isolated from the stool sample of one decedent, prompting an investigation. During 2008–2009, Zimbabwe experienced one of the largest and deadliest cholera outbreaks in recent history (98,585 cases and 4,287 [4.3%] deaths), during which Chegutu reported a case fatality rate (CFR) >5% (1,2). During 2012–2016, Zimbabwe reported 93 cholera cases and two deaths nationwide, but the increasing population density and aging water and sanitation infrastructure in Chegutu raised concern about the possibility of another widespread outbreak.