Message from WASH-RAG Board Chair
 Pat Merryweather-Arges,
WASH Rotary Action Group Board Chair
Our new Board Chair explains why she is a member of the WASH Rotary Action Group.
Read one example from her 30-year career in healthcare on how clean water, and following standards for sanitation and hygiene can dramatically reduce newborn deaths.
Pat is a strong advocate for WASH in general and especially WASH in Healthcare Facilities, as she knows the impact.
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Greetings to all of our WASH Rotary Action Group Members and WASH Ambassadors!
I am often asked why I am in the WASH Rotary Action Group, as I am not a water or waste Engineer and not very technical when it comes to installation and testing of water and waste samples.
I have an easy explanation and this reflects many of us involved in WASH, it is because “It All Starts with WASH!” We all know that WASH – Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene - is the foundation of healthy lives --- free from illness; bolstering economic growth; keeping waterways and soil free of contamination; improving health outcomes in hospitals and clinics; increasing plant food and agriculture; and it certainly is refreshing to swim in during these hot days of summer.
I have worked in healthcare for over 30 years and have found that safe water, sanitation, and following hygiene standards are key to positive outcomes of care by reducing maternal and newborn infections from unclean hands; sterilizing surgical equipment and procedure devices; cleaning surgical wounds; and keeping the healthcare facility free of life-threatening bacteria.
Recently, I was referred to an article by Jeanine Thomas, a passionate and knowledgeable patient advocate on eradicating healthcare acquired infections. The article headline says it all “In Nigeria and Ethiopia, Neonatal Sepsis Poses a Major Threat to Newborns. And as Antibiotic Resistance Grows, a Crisis is Mounting.” With growing resistance to antibiotics and antibiotics in short supply around the world, this article concludes with…..this cycle can be broken with clean water. Clean water would allow the babies to be delivered with clean hands; newborns would be placed in clean settings and wrapped in clean warming blankets; equipment would be clean; infections reduced due to following standards of sanitation and hygiene; and the risk of developing sepsis caused by an infection would be dramatically reduced. The article is not technical but really walks one through the crisis of dramatically reducing newborn deaths with WASH!
Reducing Newborn Deaths with WASH
WASH Rotary Action Group is always looking for Rotary members and non-Rotarians that want to make a difference in the lives of many people around the world --- It All Starts with WASH! To join us, sign up at https://www.wash-rag.org/membership/
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