In 2019 the JMP published harmonized baseline estimates for water, sanitation, hand hygiene, health care waste management, and environmental cleaning (WASH) services in health care facilities. The global baseline report was accompanied by a report published by WHO and UNICEF describing practical steps that countries were taking to ensure universal access to quality care.
In 2020 the global database was updated, and the JMP contributed a chapter to the WHO/UNICEF Global progress report on WASH in health care facilities: fundamentals first. The report found that:
A quarter of health care facilities lacked basic water services in 2019, exposing 1.8 billion people, including health care workers and patients, to greater risk of infections.
One in three health care facilities did not have hand hygiene facilities at the point of care.
Ten percent of health care facilities had no sanitation service.
One third did not segregate waste safely.
Most countries in the world do not have sufficient data to report on basic WASH services in health care facilities. Filling data gaps and setting baselines should be an immediate priority.
The global database will be updated again in 2022.