In Malawi, a large percent of the population suffers from chronic malnutrition and high rates of infant mortality, and access to clean water is hard to come by. Of the 17 million people living in Malawi, 2.2 million don't have access to a clean water facility. This can cause cholera, diarrhoea and pneumonia, which if untreated, can be fatal.

Even worse, more than half of healthcare facilities in Malawi lack sufficient water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) provision for staff and patients, which puts people’s lives at risk.

Ethel Mazuzo is a junior nurse at Khonjeni Health Care Facility (HCF), which provides primary health care services to over 10,000 people from surrounding communities. The centre offers prenatal consultations, baby deliveries and out-patient treatments, but until recently it lacked adequate sanitation facilities. In 2018, the water system broke down and staff and patients had no choice but to fetch water from unprotected sources. This increased the risk of COVID-19 transmission at the facility.

The lack of adequate WASH facilities made Ethel’s work as a nurse difficult and risky. “After treating a patient, I need to wash my hands properly with soap and clean treated water. Most of the time, this wasn’t possible because there was no water available. As a result, my life was put at a high risk of contracting coronavirus”.

In response to the situation, United Purpose with funding from The One Foundation and in collaboration with Thyolo District Council through the District Health Office implemented a three-month WASH project. This successfully rehabilitated the existing water system, including the toilets and handwashing facilities. The project also distributed buckets and soap for handwashing and chlorine for disinfection and water treatment.

United Purpose has worked in Malawi since 1988 and today is one of the country’s largest NGOs, working in partnership with local government and communities across fourteen districts. We work in partnership with others to implement development interventions that improve lives through a range of projects including microfinance and income generation, livelihoods, food security, health and nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and sustainable energy.