WASH

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Urbanization

Students walk past the debris, mostly plastic waste dumped into the river by the people, as the flood water recedes from the bank of Bagmati river following the deadly flood due to heavy rains, in Kathmandu, Nepal, October 2, 2024.

Polluted Rivers Create a Public Health Crisis in Nepal

by Tanka Dhakal

Unchecked urbanization has led to a surge of waterborne diseases among Nepal's poorest communities

Poverty

Ddungu Annet, a 39-year-old nursing officer, washes her hands in the labor ward before examining an expectant mother at Nabweru Health Center, Uganda.

The Economic Constraints on Clean Water

Investing in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) reduces the financial costs of disease outbreaks

Traditional Maasai women collect water from a borehole, at the Lositeti village, in Matapato North, Kajiado County, Kenya, on February 26, 2023.

Poverty

Kenya's Fluoride Problem

by Joseph Maina

Heavy fluoride in Kenya's water supply has consequences for the country's health and economy

Poverty

Water Is Life

by Susan K. Barnett

An interview with Cardinal Michael F. Czerny on the Catholic Church’s water, sanitation, and hygiene project

Migration

Malawi’s Cholera Outbreak Could Spill Over into Neighboring Countries

by Ray Mwareya

Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe are all at risk of cross-border cholera outbreaks.

Volunteers wait for their names to be called before testing and taking part in a COVID-19 clinical trial at the Wits RHI Shandukani Research Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa, on August 27, 2020. Picture shows a waiting room full of people. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

Trade

Vaccine Nationalism and Africa

by Evaborhene Aghogho Nelson

African Union calls for a “People's Vaccine” as African Academy of Sciences begins mapping local clinical trials sites

U.S. school systems are stuck between two bad choices. A classroom chair rests between two dismantled water fountains at Edmondson Westside High School in Baltimore, Maryland, on April 28, 2020. The photo shows a red chair in a beige-colorored hallway where two porticos feature white porcelain basins now dry for the pandemic. REUTERS/Tom Brenner

Environment

The Kids Are (Not) Alright

by Kevin O’Rourke, Katherine Leach-Kemon, Theo Vos

Analyzing the evidence against—and in support of—reopening schools during COVID-19

A man drives an auto-rickshaw depicting the coronavirus to create awareness about staying at home during a nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19—in Chennai, India, on April 23, 2020. The image shows a vehicle painted red and covered with crown spikes reminiscent of the virus, which appear to be made of paper mache. REUTERS/P. Ravikumar

Governance

What Happens When COVID-19 Ends?

by Ankit Raj

The pandemic has exposed cracks in our health-care systems, shortsightedness of human interests, and poor public policy

Food

Why Private Sector Engagement Should Be Part of the Solution in the Developing World

by Martin Short

It’s time we push for a broader COVID-19 response that recognizes the role of business in systemic and behavior change

Proportion of population with no access to hand-washing in 2019. The map shows that hand-washing access is lowest in low-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and the Caribbean.

Poverty

Handwashing Is Crucial for Combating Coronavirus

by Alemnesh H. Mirkuzie, Awoke Misganaw Temesgen, Michael Brauer

Expanded hand-washing access could save thousands of lives from diseases like COVID-19—especially in low-income settings

Nurse Tatsanee Onthong, 26, receives help putting on PPE before attending to a COVID-19 patient in the ICU at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, on April 22, 2020. Picture shows a nurse being helped into her PPE. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

Trade

COVID-19: It Ain’t Over Until There’s PPE All Over

by Madeleine Ballard, Carey Westgate, The Community Health Impact Coalition

None of us are safe until all health workers are protected. The time to start is now.

A health worker in a demonstration calling on federal and local authorities to provide more Personal Protective Equipment outside New York-Presbyterian Medical Center in Manhattan on April 9, 2020. The image shows a man wearing a mask and holding a small sign above his head that says, "We need protection equipment." REUTERS/Mike Segar

Governance

How to Future-Proof Medical Supplies

by Peter Gourevitch, Deborah Seligsohn

Building resilience in COVID-19's wake will require multiple strategies, including strengthening our medical stockpile

A general view of a food market after Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari called for a lockdown starting the same day to limit the spread of coronavirus in Lagos, Nigeria on March 30, 2020. The picture shows a market bustling with trade. REUTERS/Temilade Adelaja

Governance

COVID-19 Highlights the Need for Community Health

by Angela Gichaga, Amit Chandra, Nelly Wakaba, Claire K. Qureshi, Lyudmila Nepomnyashchiy

Turning the tide on the pandemic and achieving greater global health security demands stronger community health systems

Traditional healer Bi Mwanahija Mzee folds root medicine in a piece of paper to give to a mother who complains of her child's constipation in Zanzibar City, Tanzania on January 31, 2019. The photo shows the healer facing the camera and sitting between two other women and a child. REUTERS/Nicky Woo

Environment

A Wake-Up Call for Healthier Design

by Etta Madete

Good design principles and simple measures to prevent the spread COVID-19 inspired by African traditional health centers