“We get situations where facilities don’t have running water – and we are forced to shut down the maternity wards. The women have no choice but to have the child themselves. WASH is very important to provide optimal care to all.” – Pacharo Matchere, healthcare worker from Malawi in evidence to the UK Parliament.

Each year, 16.6 million women in least developed countries (LDCs) give birth in healthcare facilities without adequate water, soap and toilets; and globally more than 1 million mothers and newborns die because of unclean births.

The updated global strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health should recognise the vital role of WASH in ensuring clean, safe births and women’s and children’s health in general; and call for the provision of gender-responsive WASH in all healthcare facilities by 2030, prioritising maternity wards as critical to reducing maternal and child mortality