PH To UN: Water, Sanitation and Hygiene is Fundamental to Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response
Ambassador Enrique A. Manalo, Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations and co-chair of the Group of Friends in Support of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in healthcare facilities (HCF), stresses the critical importance of WASH services in preventing the spread of COVID-19 as well as other diseases, safely treating those infected and in preventing future pandemics. (Photo Credit: New York PM)
UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK 04 April 2022 – At the adoption by the UN General Assembly of the Global Health and Foreign Policy resolution on “Elevating pandemic prevention, preparedness and response to the highest level of political leadership,” Ambassador Enrique A. Manalo, speaking on behalf of the water, sanitation and hygiene services (WASH) in healthcare facilities (HCF) said that the COVID-19 pandemic revealed the urgent global need for improvement in access to WASH in HCF.
Ambassador Manalo emphasized that WASH services are fundamental for the provision of quality, people-centered care, health security, preparedness and response efforts. These services reduce exposure to and transmission of diseases, and serve to uphold the dignity and human rights of all people, especially people in vulnerable situations including mothers, newborns, children, and indigenous people. The lack of these essential health services impacts nearly 2 billion people, and communities in low- and middle-income countries suffer greatest from this problem.
“Investment in and improvements of WASH services will serve as indispensable first line of defense when the next pandemic emerges. WASH in healthcare facilities is a necessary element for primary health care and foundation for strong health systems,” Ambassador Manalo stressed.
UN Secretary General António Guterres recognized the need to address the inadequate WASH in healthcare facilities and launched a global call to action in March 2018. He emphasized that access to WASH in healthcare facilities is essential to the achievement of universal health coverage and critical Sustainable Development Goals, encompassing the end to poverty, improved education, reduced inequalities, clean water and sanitation, and better health and well-being for all.
The Philippines and Hungary launched the Group of Friends in Support of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in healthcare facilities last year to raise the profile in the United Nations of wash services and infection prevention and control in healthcare facilities. The current members of the Group also include Colombia, Egypt, Mauritania, Nepal, Poland and Slovenia.
For more information, visit https://www.newyorkpm.dfa.gov.ph, https://www.un.int/philippines or https://www.facebook.com/PHMissionNY/. END