Newly established global estimate on hygiene reveals the risk of disease spread and infections to patients and health care providers Half of health care facilities worldwide lack basic hygiene services with water and soap or alcohol-based hand rub where patients receive care and at toilets in these facilities, according to the latest Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) report by WHO and UNICEF. Around 3.85 billion people use these facilities, putting them at greater risk of infection, including 688 million people who receive care at facilities with no hygiene services at all.…
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Harare Water & Sanitation Situation Deteriorates Further…Mayor Blames Politics
DEMAND for clean and safe water has surged in Harare, surrounding smaller towns and local authorities, resulting in the City struggling to sustain the daily water demand of 1,200 Megaliters of Water against a daily water production capacity of 340 Megaliters. By Michael Gwarisa This also comes amidst indications that towns like Chitungwiza, Ruwa local authority and places such as Epworth still rely on Harare water for sustenance. The failure by council to provide adequate water has led to residents in Harare and surrounding areas sinking shallow wells and boreholes…
Read MoreA Thigh For For A Bucket: Sexual Abuse Reigns Supreme At Boreholes and Waterpoints In Zimbabwe
THE absence of adequate water and sanitation facilities provides a fertile breeding ground for Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV). In both rural and urban settings in Zimbabwe, girls and women travel long distances to fetch water and, in some instances where ablution facilities are not available, they relieve themselves in the bush, further making girls and young women targets of abuse. By Michael Gwarisa According to the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey of 2019, a sizable number of households in Zimbabwe still lack sufficient Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities…
Read MoreNAC/UNICEF Collaborate To Integrate WASH and HIV Programs For Positive Health Outcomes In Sanyati
IN a bid to reduce diarrhoeal induced morbidity and mortality amongst People Living with HIV (PLHIV) as well as influence behavior change, the National AIDS Council (NAC) has partnered the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNCEF) and the Ministry of Health and Child Care (MoHCC) to integrate HIV and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene programs in Sanyati districts. By Michael Gwarisa recently in Sanyati A study conducted by the Anglo-American Group foundation indicate that Diarrhoea remains a very common disease affecting about 90% of people living with HIV in Southern Africa,…
Read MoreApply Gender Lens For All WASH Programmes To Reduce SGBV Says UNICEF
AS the world grapples to contain the COVID-19 health crisis, a silent pandemic in the form of Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) continues to roam around untamed. According to the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey of 2019, about one in every two women aged 15-49 in Zimbabwe had experienced emotional, physical and sexual abuse committed by the current or last husband/partner in their lifetime. By Michael Gwarisa To address the continued surge in GBV and SGBV cases, there is need to identify the loopholes and gaps that may be contributing…
Read MoreWhy World Toilet Day Is No Joke
TO date, 4.5 billion people live without safely managed sanitation and 892 million people still practise open defecation. By Michael Gwarisa Every year, on November 19, the world celebrates World Toilet Day and this year, the day is running under the theme “When nature calls, we have to listen and act.” Twice or thrice a day, nature calls and the need to relieve oneself becomes inevitable making the toilet a basic human right and need. Sanitation has been declared a human right by the United Nations. The United Nations…
Read MoreEmergency Cholera Indaba On The Cards
A Cholera symposium is set to be held in Harare, on October, 5 2018 to deliberate and proffer lasting solutions to the water infrastructure crisis in urban environments which is believed to be the major driving force behind the recurrence of medieval diseases such as Cholera and Typhoid. By Michael Gwarisa The conference which is being organised by a group of local and foreign based Zimbabwean engineers and new ZBC radio station, Classic 263 will draw participation from players in the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector as well…
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