WASH & HIV

The negative impact of low access to safe drinking water, insufficient quantities of water for basic hygiene, and inadequate to sanitation are magnified for HIV-infected, immuno-compromised individuals. Further, HIV-infected individuals require more water. The added burden affects not only the HIV infected, but the entire family, increasing risk of diarrheal disease and lost productivity and impacting quality of life. Therefore, people living with HIV and households (PLHIV) affected by HIV and AIDS have a substantially greater need for WASH services: more water, safe water, easy access to water and sanitation, and proper hygiene.

There is an urgent need for improved WASH practices in home-based care (HBC). Although HBC providers receive training in many aspects of care and support at the household level, including training in the principles of basic WASH, little emphasis and/or detailed information has been given about how HBC providers can help household members to overcome, or change, the many daily obstacles to improved WASH behaviors in the home. New practices can be adopted and current practices can be modified or changed in small ways that are acceptable/feasible to households. When tools are combined with some technical support for training and programmatic integration, uptake of the approaches has high potential for success, especially if activities are integrated into existing programs.