Global health and water security are connected in multiple ways, and related data can be used to inform health-related decision making and interventions.
Guaranteeing access to sufficient water supply of good quality while also protecting communities from water-related threats such as flooding and other extreme weather events are crucial to promote human health. We look at water-related infrastructure, such as provision of safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), as well as water-related knowledge and behaviour, and how resulting health challenges, such as water-related infectious disease exposure, can be prevented.
We work in different regions and among different populations in low-, middle- and high-income countries. Central to our work are the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) #6: access to water and sanitation for all, and SDG 3: good health and well-being for all at all ages.
We look at water and health challenges from a broader perspective, which includes implications of
- Extreme weather events, e.g. the impact of flooding on the accessibility and functionality of WASH and health infrastructure, and on physical, mental and social health outcomes.
- Inequality, e.g. variations in access to safe WASH in space and time, and among different population groups.
- Education, e.g. the importance of water-and health-related knowledge for health promotion, and the provision of safe WASH in schools.
- Cultural context, e.g. water-related practices and behaviours, health-related (mis)beliefs, local knowledge of water and health and their importance for contextualized health-related decision making.
