Podcast: What a lack of water and hygiene can mean for health

Listen to "What lack of water and hygiene can mean for health" on Spreaker.

“Can you imagine labor and delivery without water?” That’s the reality for many women in rural Ethiopia, according to Migs Muldrow, founder and board chair of Village Health Partnerships. The partnership works to prevent maternal and neonatal death in childbirth and to treat and prevent gynecologic complications of childbirth in the country.

According to the World Health Organization, almost 2 billion people depend on health care facilities that don’t have water services. That means that those who seek care end up being further exposed to illness and infection.

“Mothers and babies are then at risk of sepsis and death, so it’s imperative — if we’re going to create a safe place for women and babies — to implement sanitation and hygiene, and access to clean water is critical for that,” Muldrow said.

Without it, patients can’t use the toilet and health care workers can’t wash their hands after procedures, said Nkwan Jacob Gobte, a WASH infection prevention and control nurse working with the Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services.

Outside the health setting, a lack of WASH also wreaks havoc on a person’s health in other ways. It can leave them exposed to diseases such as cholera, typhoid, and dysentery.

In a new podcast from the WASH Works series, Devex explores how a lack of WASH might impact progress on the broader sustainable development agenda. WASH Works taps into global perspectives and recommendations for changes, as well as taking a look at what local initiatives are simultaneously tackling challenges on the ground.

For the second episode, Devex spoke to Gobte and Muldrow about the intersection of WASH and health and what actions can be taken to push forward progress in both Sustainable Development Goal 3 on good health and well-being and SDG 6 on clean water and sanitation.

Listen to the podcast through Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Spreaker.

Visit the WASH Works series for more coverage on water, sanitation, and hygiene — and importantly, how WASH efforts intersect with other development challenges. You can join the conversation using the hashtag #WASHWorks.