(Monrovia, Liberia, September 28, 2026) —Ministry of Health has increased efforts to improve water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), infection prevention and environmental health standards in healthcare facilities through a nationwide training activities targeting nine counties.
The four-day training was organized by the Ministry’s Environmental and Occupational Health Unit (EOHU) using the Water and Sanitation for Health Facility Improvement Tool (WASH FIT) framework. It is a practical approach intended to guide health facilities to improve WASH services.
The training simultaneously happened across Montserrado, Bomi, Bong, Grand Cape Mount, Grand Bassa, Margibi, Lofa, Nimba and Gbarpolu counties, with participants assessing existing conditions in health facilities, identifying critical gaps and developing practical measures to improve WASH and infection prevention standards. And 61 healthcare facilities benefitted from the training.
WASH FIT is designed to help healthcare facilities systematically assess risks related to water, sanitation, hygiene, healthcare waste management, environmental cleaning and infection prevention, while supporting teams to develop and monitor improvement actions.
During the training, participants worked through the seven WASH FIT domains, examining the conditions within their respective facilities and identifying areas requiring immediate attention.
The exercise placed particular emphasis on moving from assessment to action, with county teams encouraged to prioritize risks and develop realistic interventions that can produce measurable improvements in healthcare facilities.
A central feature of the training was a practical, facility-based exercise designed to ensure that participants could apply WASH FIT tools to real-world conditions.
Each county team selected a healthcare facility where participants conducted an on-site assessment, examined existing WASH and infection prevention practices, identified gaps and discussed practical measures for addressing the challenges observed.
The facility-based exercise allowed participants to move beyond theoretical learning and apply the WASH FIT methodology directly to the environments in which healthcare workers and patients interact.
The approach is intended to help health teams identify problems not merely as deficiencies, but as risks that can be prioritized and addressed through specific improvement actions.
Alongside the training, essential WASH and cleaning supplies are being distributed to participating healthcare facilities to support implementation of identified gaps.
The supplies include brooms, cutlasses, mops, liquid soap, cholera prevention materials, rakes, reusable heavy-duty gloves, disposable heavy-duty gloves, waste bins, chlorine buckets and tissue paper.
The distribution is expected to provide participating facilities with basic materials needed to strengthen environmental cleaning, waste management, hygiene and infection prevention activities.
The Ministry’s use of practical assessments under the WASH FIT approach also places greater responsibility on healthcare teams to identify and respond to conditions within their own facilities.
The September training across the nine counties with 61 healthcare facilities benefitting is expected to provide health workers with practical tools for identifying WASH and infection prevention risks and translating those findings into concrete actions at facility level.