Reflecting on the outcomes of Vessel Collective's US WASH Convening held in May 2024, our Founder Kimberly Worsham, MPA, MIWM teamed up with Ashley Voisinet & Genevieve Mancuso, P.E. (Public Hygiene Lets Us Stay Human (PHLUSH)) and Terence Lester, Ph.D. (Love Beyond Walls) to rethink societal approaches to hygiene in the United States 🚻🧼. Here are the 3 key takeaways from this collaboration:
1️⃣ Unlike the popular opinion, hygiene goes well beyond hand or body washing: it includes environmental cleanliness, proper menstruation care, food safety, mental health practices, and so much more. The WASH sector needs to expand the hygiene mindset to center the overall human need for wellness as its driving purpose.
2️⃣ A big part of achieving quality hygiene in the US is creating public spaces that allow hygienic behaviors, including public restrooms, bathing facilities, and more. Such (often overlooked) infrastructure is crucial for a large portion of the US population whose living situation doesn't provide reliable access to basic hygiene services.
3️⃣ Improving hygiene equity is hampered by a lack of funding, serious staffing shortage, social and cultural stigmas around hygiene needs, and, perhaps most importantly, lack of unified responsibility and prioritization for public hygiene in the country. To make real progress, we need a shift from a mess with no clear leadership to quantifiable metrics and accountability.
Ultimately, if we start prioritizing wellness access for those most in need, the benefits will extend to everyone. So, let's get our acts together and bring the US public hygiene squarely into the 21st century. Agree?🤔
For the full article, visit our blog here: https://lnkd.in/eUfmudU9. Special thanks to Laura B. from Water For People for a fruitful conversation about this before posting.
#Hygiene #PublicHygiene #PublicHealth #Wellness #Equity
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