WaterAid, under the Pan Africa Programme, will on Friday host a side event at the Rwanda Global Healthcare Summit in Kigali.
The side event under the theme “Water, sanitation and hygiene in healthcare facilities and pandemic preparedness and response” will comprise an exhibition booth on WASH, the launch of the hygiene for health campaign and panel discussions.
Olutayo Bankole-Bolawole, WaterAid East Africa regional director, said WaterAid looks forward to the major global health conference and welcomes the fact that water, sanitation and hygiene are clearly recognised as central to the main issues on the agenda.
“At the Global Healthcare Summit, WaterAid will share experiences in integrating WASH in health care facilities, generate discussions on inclusive pandemic response with partners and launch the Hygiene for Health Campaign,” Bankole-Bolawole said in a statement Tuesday.
WaterAid will also advocate better integration of water, sanitation, and hygiene into the health sector. The Global Healthcare Summit between November 18-20 will be a hybrid event hosted by the Rwandan Ministry of Health and facilitated by Be Still Investments.
At least 500 delegates consisting of Health ministers, representatives of African governments, development partners, including donors and other international agencies, high-profile health experts and hospitals decision makers, health procurement managers, pharmaceutical and bio medical engineers, among others, are expected to attend the summit.
The meeting, which coincides with the commemoration of World Toilet Day on November 19, aims to spark a global conversation on today’s healthcare status and to raise awareness on health issues and multi-sector dimensions.
It will also raise pandemic preparedness, as the world battles Covid-19.
“The Covid-19 pandemic illustrates the vital importance of continued investment in comprehensive disease prevention measures, which are critical to strengthening preparedness and response to other diseases including cholera and neglected tropical diseases, as well as emerging health threats such as antimicrobial resistance,” Water Aid said in an earlier statement.
It added that building health systems resilience and strengthening pandemic preparedness and response is unachievable without adequately addressing the most fundamental pillars of public health which include a comprehensive water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services.
