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Read the latest blog posts from our series authored by the BASICS (Bold Action to Stop Infections in Clinical Settings) team. BASICS is a new initiative that will transform healthcare and reduce healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) by at least 50%.

BASICS (Bold Action to Stop Infections in Clinical Settings) will launch in four countries where governments have shown commitment to reducing infection risk.

June 20, 2020

How BASICS Will Adapt to Respond to Unique Cultural Barriers
Written by the BASICS team

Save the Children health workers in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, are still providing vital services during the COVID-19 outbreak.

June 19, 2020

Monitoring and Evaluating Plan Key to BASICs Uptake and Scaling
Written by the BASICS team

Saly's outreach midwife Suon Mach in Cambodia. David Wardell / Save the Children.

June 19, 2020

How Behavior Change Interventions Can Be a Key to Improving Hygiene in Healthcare
Written by the BASICS team

A mother holds her newborn, who is wrapped in a blanket.

May 9, 2020

The Unintended Consequences of COVID-19 on Mothers and Newborns
Written by the BASICS team

A healthcare worker living in rural Tanzania dressed in green scrubs.

April 27, 2020

WaterAid Tanzania (Project Was Funded By The Canadian Government)
Written by the BASICS team, Save the Children

A man in a white jumpsuit is sprayed down wish a blue wash to disinfect against ebola.

April 24, 2020

Disinfection You Can See
Written by the BASICS team, Save the Children
Original post by Kinnos

A boy stands in front of a mobile health van.

April 16, 2020

BASICS’ Partners Mobilize Global Responses to Combat Pandemic's Impacts
Written by the BASICS (Bold Action to Stop Infections in Clinical Settings) team, Save the Children

April 16, 2020

Making Health Care Clean: Steve Sara, Save the Children, on How an Approach to Clean Clinics Can Be Cheap and Sustainable
Written by the BASICS (Bold Action to Stop Infections in Clinical Settings) team, Save the Children

April 16, 2020

Teaching the Science of Cleaning: Professor Wendy Graham of LSHTM on the Crucial Importance of "BASICS" in Fighting Infections
Written by the BASICS (Bold Action to Stop Infections in Clinical Settings) team, Save the Children

A woman cleans the floor of a health center while wearing gloves, an apron and a mask.

April 7, 2020

Strong Health Systems Don't Exist Without Water, Sanitation and Hygiene: Lessons from COVID-19
Written by the BASICS (Bold Action to Stop Infections in Clinical Settings) team, Save the Children

April, 2020

COVID-19 and Surface Disinfection: The Importance of the "Four Cs" of Disinfectants
Written by the BASICS Team

Local volunteers in Wuhan, China wear protective suiting while helping to load boxes of face masks donated by Save the Children onto a distribution truck.

March 20, 2020

COVID-19 Pandemic Reinforces the Need for Healthcare Facilities’ Preparedness
Written by the BASICS Team

A woman at a health clinic washes her hands in the sink.

February 14, 2020

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Improvements Are Key to Sustaining Healthcare’s Ascendency in Cambodia
Written by Channa Sam Ol, Manager, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and Health Programs, WaterAid Cambodia

A drainage channel used for washing clothes is also where members of the community often have to dispose their waste.

Feb. 10, 2020

The "Quick Fix" for Care, Productivity, Hygience and Inequality: Reframing the Entrenched Problem of Antibiotic Overuse
Written by Dr. Laurie Denyer Willis and Dr. Clare I.R. Chandler

A group of health care works in a facility.

Jan. 29, 2020

The Clean Clinic Approach: All Guatemalan Health Facilities in Project Achieve 'Clean Clinic' Status within One Year
Written by Dr. Sergio Tumax Sierra, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Manager, Guatemala

Jan. 29, 2020

BASICS: Helping the Fight Against Antimicrobial Resistance
Written by the BASICS team

A woman in latex gloves stands in the bathroom of a health care facility.

Jan. 21, 2020

Integrating Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and Health for Improved Universal Health Outcomes: What Governments Must Do to Deliver Quality Care
Written by Blessing Sani, WaterAid Communications Officer, Nigeria

Highlight, a decontaminate dyed blue so that that workers can easily see exactly what has and has not been covered, spread

January 21, 2020

Year-long Hospital Pilot Documents Highlight®’s Role in Reducing Failure Rate of Cleaning Sampling to Zero
Written by Jason Kang, Co-founder and CEO, Kinnos

Barey, 24, holds her daughter Salma, 20 months old, at the hospital in Kabridahar, on June 26, 2019.

December 6, 2019

A Tanzanian Doctor’s Insight Into the Barriers to Fewer Healthcare-Acquired Infections
Written by Dr. Joseph Obure, Maternal and Reproductive Health Advisor, Save the Children

Dorcas Gwata stands in front of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

December 4, 2019

Knowing and Respecting Support Staff: A Vital Step in the Journey to Reducing Healthcare-Associated Infections
Written by Lydia Di Stefano Research Assistant, Maternal and Newborn Health Group – London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Matthew and his family receive support from Save the Children through our health outreach program. Save the Children health workers regularly visit his village, Turkana too screen the children for malnutrition, provide vaccinations, share health messaging, and provide advice and support.

December 4, 2019

BASICS: Scaling Up Affordable and High-Impact Healthcare Practices
Written by the BASICS Team

A hospital worker wearing blue scrubs cleans the maternity ward with a short broom and a purple bucket. The hospital is in Nigeria.

October 11, 2019

Frustration and Optimism: My Mixed Emotions for Reducing Healthcare-Associated Infections at Birth
Written by Wendy J. Graham, Professor of Obstetric Epidemiology, Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology

A health worker in a blue gown applies Highlight, a blue dye, to a fellow worker to decontaminate their protective garments from Ebola.

September 30, 2019

The Blue Dye Innovation That Makes Disinfecting Health Facilities More Effective and More Visible
Written by Jason Kang, Co-founder and CEO, Kinnos

September 19, 2019

Why I’m Passionate About Reducing Infections in Health Care Facilities
Written by Alison Macintyre, Health Technical Lead – WaterAid

A woman and her child sit on run-down hospital beds surrounded by stray cats. Public health care systems in many countries like Egypt continue to be plagued by poor adherence to proper hygiene standards and the devastating consequences that result.

September 12, 2019

Why I Don’t Want Another Mother to Experience My Health Care Scare
Written by Soha Ellaithy Senior Director, Strategic Foundation Partnerships and Senior Partnership Director, BASICS

A woman and her newborn baby rest in a maternity ward.

September 11, 2019

A Clean Maternity Ward Is Every Woman’s Right
Written by Janti Soeripto, Chief Operating Officer and President, Save the Children

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