Improving WASH for healthcare facilities and women’s health: Testing the STREAMS approach in Malawi

Dr. Sean Irwin received Fund for Innovation and Transformation (FIT) funding to improve WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) infrastructure and quality of care in health care facilities in Malawi.

Health care facilities in low asset settings often lack safe and effective water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) systems, putting patients and staff at heightened risk for healthcare associated infections and medical complications. This problem disproportionately affects women since they tend to use health care facilities more frequently and acutely. To address this, we have developed the STREAMS (Systems, Training, Empowerment And Monitoring Support) innovation which seeks to improve WASH related infrastructure and quality of care through a circuit rider approach. This project tests the STREAMS innovation to determine its value to health authorities and, if found to be highly valuable, will contribute to the sustainability and expansion of improved WASH in Malawian health care facilities.