Health Workers Protest Outside World Health Assembly for Clean Water in Clinics

Midwives, health workers, and mothers from Tanzania, Nigeria, Morocco, Ghana, and the UK held a protest outside the World Health Assembly in Geneva. The group beat drums, waved blue fabric, and held placards calling for clean water in every health center and maternity ward.

Silviana Swallo, a midwife from Tanzania, said: "I can't speak about midwifery care without adequate water supply. " Her colleague Christina Mhando, WaterAid Tanzania's head of policy, said: "The solutions exist, they're simple and cheap. The campaign calls on world leaders to ensure every health center has clean water, decent sanitation, and proper hygiene facilities.

WaterAid research states that a woman gives birth every two seconds without access to clean water, functional toilets, or basic hygiene. That figure equals more than 16 million women a year. One in five health facilities globally still lacks the basics, meaning midwives cannot wash their hands between patients or reliably sterilize equipment.

The protest comes after the WHO declared a public health emergency of international concern over an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with cases also spreading to Uganda. WaterAid's head of health and hygiene policy Helen Hamilton said clean water, decent toilets, and proper handwashing facilities are essential to preventing the spread of the disease.

She added that aid cuts have weakened disease surveillance networks that are supposed to catch outbreaks early. "As health leaders gather in Geneva for the World Health Assembly this week, the message must be clear: we must ensure all healthcare facilities have clean water, decent toilets and the means for good hygiene," she said.