The Hill: Health is in our hands
Carolyn Moore, secretariat director of the Global Handwashing Partnership

“…Preventing infections requires the availability of soap, water, and sanitation, and consistent and correct hand hygiene. … Prevention is cost-effective and Congress agrees on many issues of water and global health. The U.S. government has an important role, with the Water for the World Act of 2014, and the 2017 U.S. Global Water Strategy, which organizes 17 U.S. federal agencies with various roles in water policy. Through its 2013-2018 Water and Development Strategy, USAID is taking action to improve sanitation and hygiene in health facilities in many countries. Importantly, the agency recognizes that ‘the expansion and improvement’ of water, sanitation, and hygiene programming overall is critical to improving its efforts on maternal and child survival. … Let’s work to meet the U.N. Secretary General’s recent call to action for the global community to achieve universal access to water, sanitation, and hygiene in all health care facilities by 2030. … Global Handwashing Day is … a reminder that disease prevention is quite literally within our reach” (10/15).