Community of Practice
The WASH in HCF Community of Practice Initiative, facilitated by the Water Institute at UNC, is an action-oriented learning platform seeking to connect practitioners around the world.
The WASH in Healthcare Facilities Community of Practice (COP) seeks to bring together practitioners from across the globe to share experiences in providing and sustaining these critical services. The COP was launched in 2021 and is currently facilitated by the Water Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as the Secretariat. The COP contributes to the global WASH in health care facilities initiative co-led by WHO and UNICEF through three main objectives:
- Connect in-country WASH in healthcare facility implementers with the evidence, resources, potential partners, and funding mechanisms they need to develop, implement and advocate for WASH in HCF programs
- Provide a platform for COP members to share experience, ideas and best practices for WASH in HCF programming
- Encourage members to take action based on the latest research and best practices
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for WASH in healthcare facilities.
Upcoming events
Faith in Action: Advancing WASH in Healthcare Facilities Through Faith-Based Partnerships
Wednesday, March 18
10:00 – 11:00 AM EDT | 15:00 – 16:00 CET | 16:00 – 17:00 EAT
Previous events
Recent webinars hosted by the COP are highlighted below. The full selection of prior webinars is archived here.
Securing public commitment for results-based funding of drinking water in rural HCFs (February 2026)
This webinar examines how public commitments for results-based funding can be secured to sustain drinking water services in rural healthcare facilities, drawing on the SafePani model in Bangladesh and exploring how professional service delivery, verifiable performance metrics, and co-financing arrangements have enabled delivery of reliable drinking water that is free from faecal contamination in community clinics and rural primary schools at scale. Watch the recording here.
Strengthening infection prevention and control activities in Ghana’s healthcare system (January 2026)
This webinar will present results from several evaluations and steps taken by the Ghana Health Service that has led to the start of a national, government-led scale up campaign of onsite chlorine generators in health facilities across the country. Watch the recording here.
Findings from the new Global Progress Report on WASH, Waste and Electricity in Health Care Facilities (October 2025)
This webinar provided an overview of the 2025 Global Progress Report on WASH, waste and electricity in health care facilities, published by WHO and UNICEF. Watch the recording here.
Clean Frontline: Improving hospital surface hygiene in Cambodia (September 2025)
This webinar shared the results of a stepped-wedge trial across 13 referral hospitals in Cambodia, testing the WHO’s training package for environmental cleaning —the first of its kind globally—on microbiological cleanliness and discussed how the project empowered hospital cleaners to recognize their vital role in infection prevention. Watch the recording here.
Bridging energy gaps in healthcare facilities (June 2025)
This session presented on gaps in how energy access is measured and integrated into health system planning, with a case study from the Democratic Republic of the Congo that used high-frequency monitoring to link real-time electricity quality and reliability to health outcomes. Watch the recording here.
Best practices for safe management of pharmaceutical waste (March 2025)
This session presented WHO’s newly released report on the safe management of pharmaceutical waste from health care facilities, featuring expert reflections from countries and partners on key recommendations. Watch the recording here.
Best practices for safe management of pharmaceutical waste (March 2025)
This session presented WHO’s newly released report on the safe management of pharmaceutical waste from health care facilities, featuring expert reflections from countries and partners on key recommendations. Watch the recording here.
Measuring WASH Adequacy (February 2025)
This session presented on the Institutional WASH Insecurity Experiences (INWISE) project, in both schools and health care facilities. This session presented preliminary findings from Uganda and Ethiopia, highlighting how experiential data can inform policy and improve service delivery. Watch the recording here.
Launch of the WASH FIT implementation global report (January 2025)
Launch of the 2024 JMP report on WASH in healthcare facilities (December 2024)
This session launched the 2024 global monitoring report on WASH in healthcare facilities from the Joint Monitoring Programme of the WHO and UNICEF. The session presented trends in global access and data availability. implementation report from WHO/UNICEF, with an overview of how WASH FIT has been applied in different countries and specific case studies from Nepal and Benin. Read the report here. Watch the recording here.
Measuring water quality in hospital water distribution systems (November 2024)
This webinar presented findings from Bangladesh on water quality at different points throughout water distribution systems within a hospital. A plenary panel discussed the implications of the findings for monitoring and practice. Watch the recording here.
Working Groups within the WASH in HCF Community of Practice
WASH FIT Meet-Ups
WHO and UNICEF organize regular meet-ups open to all to discuss best practices and lessons learned when using WASH FIT, open to all.
The first meet-up of 2026 focused on water quality managements:
Faith-Based Action Working Group
The faith-based action working group welcomes members of all faiths to participate in this platform to connect, learn, and support one another to improve WASH in faith-based healthcare networks and beyond.
Decentralized Chlorine Production COP
This consortium of civil society organizations, private-sector companies, and individuals seeks to advance innovative chlorine generation technologies and service delivery models for disinfection and water treatment in low- and middle-income countries.
“A healthcare facility without WASH is not a healthcare facility.“
Dr. Maria Neira, Director of Public Health and Environment, World Health Organization