Shaping the future: Our strategy for research and innovation in humanitarian response.
Shaping the future: Our strategy for research and innovation in humanitarian response.
The 2019 Joint Monitoring Programme Global Baseline Report estimated that more than half of schools and 45% of primary healthcare facilities in low- and middle-income countries lack essential handwashing facilities, basic hygiene, and water supply systems. In many cases staff lack the capacity and knowledge to adequately manage WASH services. And WASH infrastructures in the communities often fail because of factors including: a mismatch between the infrastructure and the specific contextual needs; a lack of awareness and ownership; and a disconnect between national regulations and government technical services that are struggling to support communities in crisis situations.
Gravit’eau is part of the hands4health project – a multi-component WASH intervention for off-grid healthcare facilities and schools. Gravit’eau is an innovation in mobile handwashing stations that recycles water and enables up to 100 people to wash their hands per hour thanks to an automatic recycling system. It addresses poor hygiene in off-grid schools and healthcare facilities in conflict-affected areas, refugee and internally displaced camps, informal settlements and remote rural areas.
Four years of intensive research in Mali, Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Palestine produced positive results. Each country managed the production and implementation of Gravit’eau handwashing stations. And healthcare facilities and schools have become more resilient.
Gravit’eau has generated significant momentum towards better hygiene practices in communities that are challenged by water scarcity. Uptake by authorities and local stakeholders shows that hands4health is filling existing gaps and fitting the needs of users and implementers. The innovation team is continuing to build towards the widespread use of handwashing stations, and the prevention of disease transmission, in vulnerable communities.
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