Sec. 2. Findings

202 words·~1 min read·/bill/118/hr/5545/ih/section-2

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

Congress finds the following: Water, sanitation, and hygiene

(WASH)is critical to health security, preparedness and response efforts, including for the prevention of COVID–19 and future pandemics. WASH in healthcare facilities is necessary to ensure health security, including reducing preventable maternal, newborn, and child deaths and reducing the spread of infectious diseases such as cholera, diarrhea, and sepsis. Globally, 1 out of every 5 healthcare facilities have no basic water services, and 1 in 2 do not have adequate facilities to wash hands, leaving 3,850,000,000 people, including health care workers and patients, at greater risk of infections. In least-developed countries, about half of healthcare facilities lack basic water services, 79 percent have no sanitation services, and 68 percent lack basic hygiene services. Healthcare acquired infections arise from poor hygiene, contribute to patient morbidity and mortality, increase the risk of antimicrobial resistance, and contribute to increased costs for patients, their families and healthcare systems. An estimated 15 percent of patients in low- and middle-income countries acquire one or more infections during a typical hospital stay. Infections associated with unclean births account for 26 percent of neonatal deaths and 11 percent of maternal deaths; together they account for more than 1,000,000 deaths each year.