Safe Water and AIDS Project (SWAP) has been operating in Western Kenya with public health programs, research and emergency response since 2005. SWAP will produce hand washing liquid soap to support rural health care facilities with improved hand hygiene to reduce hospital acquired infections among patients and health care workers. We shall also provide hot spot areas with the same. This hand washing liquid soap is essential to mitigate the spread of disease outbreaks.
Continuity of key water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH)practices-such as hand hygiene-are among several critical community preventive and mitigation measures to reduce transmission of infectious diseases . Hot spot areas represent congregation spaces, critical for communicable disease mitigation. In low income area like Western Kenya availability of liquid soap at hand washing stations is lacking while also hand hygiene practices are wanting.
SWAP has been focused on WASH interventions in collaboration with County Department of Health and other stakeholders in Western Kenya where there is high burden of disease. SWAP will produce and distribute the liquid soap to remote and marginalized rural health care facilities and hot spot areas. We will provide capacity building of health care workers and hot spot managers on hand hygiene and social behavioral change. We will produce as well for commercial sales for sustainability.
SWAP will ensure monthly distribution of liquid soap to 25 health care facilities and 20 hot spot areas in Western Kenya, which is an area prone to flood and disease outbreaks. At health care facilities we shall reduce hospital acquired infections and positive behavior change especially hand hygiene. Diseases associated with poor hand hygiene practices will be reduced in hot spot areas and the communities. SWAP will create demand and turn this into a sustainable enterprise.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).