Today marks World Water Day, an international observance sponsored by the United Nations that inspires people to learn more about water-related issues and to take action to make a difference. This year many will focus on the power that water and jobs have to transform people’s lives. Almost half of the world’s workers (1.5 billion people) work in water-related sectors and ensure its safe delivery.
NACCHO supports local health departments in maintaining and increasing water quality, and thus, in collaboration with CDC, we are convening a community of professionals and jurisdictions interested in adopting the Model Aquatic Health Code (MAHC) or those who have already implemented the code. The goal of this network is to increase awareness of the MAHC, foster peer-to-peer networking, apply knowledge of challenges and success with the MAHC, and provide resources needed by local and state health departments to use the code.
Join NACCHO, CDC, and the Council for the Model Aquatic Health Code for bi-monthly webinars featuring local health departments and their adoption stories, as well as MAHC updates. The next MAHC Network webinar is tentatively scheduled for May 17 and will feature “First Steps” on how jurisdictions can begin adopting the code in their jurisdictions, as well as updates from CDC about Healthy and Safe Swimming Week.
If you are interested in learning more or joining the network, please email [email protected] or visit our website.
Did You Know?
- Up to 12% (1 out of 8) of public pools and 11% (1 out of 9) of public spas were closed because of immediately pressing health issues;
- Only 68% of local health departments have public pool inspection programs; and
- The MAHC provides science-based practices health departments can use to reduce risk of outbreaks, drowning, and chemical poisoning in their communities.
For more details about World Water Day, including international issues, promotional tools, and a list of events, please visit http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday/.