Water, Sanitation and Hygiene: new imperatives, new approaches

Dr Val Curtis
Reader in Hygiene, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Director of the Environmental Health Group

Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) are the triumvirate that cannot be separated. The health imperative is clear. Evidence shows that all routes of pathogen transmission have to be closed down if morbidity and mortality is to be prevented, especially in areas of high risk.

The new Sustainable Development Goals mandate universal access to WASH, but this is far from being achieved. Changing long ingrained behaviours is key to meeting this challenge.

This presentation will explore some of the new ways that Hygiene, Sanitation and Water coverage is being improved in homes, in schools, in health centres and in villages and in towns, with lessons from Africa, Asia and Latin America.