Background paper on measuring WASH and food hygiene practices : definition of goals to be tackled post 2015 by the Joint Monitoring Programme

In 2013 the United Nations General Assembly will be asked to decide what development goals the international community should seek beyond 2015.  The decision will be made based on a proposal that will be submitted to the General Assembly.  This proposal will include goals, targets and indicators pertaining to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH).  The indicators proposed will reflect principles associated with the human right to drinking water and sanitation. Four working groups have been organized to review goals, targets and indicator options for each one of the areas of concern: water, sanitation, hygiene and equity and non-discrimination.  The working groups will make proposals to a Core Consultative Group to be set up by the World Health Organization (WHO)/United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply and Sanitation.  This Consultative Group will consolidate the proposals from the working group and propose a post-2015 goal for the three WASH sector areas, including targets and indicators. The United States Government, through the State Department and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is taking the lead in organizing the hygiene working group with the help of USAID’s WASHplus project. A background paper has been commissioned from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) by USAID to inform stakeholder discussion about the future goals, targets and indicators that should be pursued by the international community post 2015 in the area of hygiene. The background paper covers three topics:  handwashing with soap, menstrual hygiene and food hygiene and considers vulnerable populations in household and institutional settings (including schools, health facilities and other places where disease prevention for vulnerable populations is important).  Vulnerable populations include neonates, children under five years of age, and people living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/ Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) (PLWHA).