Communicating Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene under Sustainable Development Goals 3, 4, and 6 as the Panacea for Epidemics and Pandemics Referencing the Succession of COVID-19 Surges

WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) has become the most crucial amenity in the past decade for every individual on the planet. In the UN agenda for 2030, which created 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), SDGs 3, 4, and 6 directly correlate with WASH practices and management for creating a good health hygiene environment for all. The dearth of WASH facilities has created barriers for averting the transmission of COVID-19, motivating the concept of WASH as the primary step of precaution and prevention, which includes WASH practices, communication for literacy, and positive behavioral changes primarily in developing and low-income countries. This Review deals with the complex concept of correlation of WASH and SDGs 3, 4, and 6 while defining elaborate WASH practices, including the prominence of clean water, the need for sanitation facilities, and health hygiene for good health and immunity for preparedness for and during epidemics and pandemics. Certain risk factors explain the sectors in which the gaps exist, creating a gap for implementation of WASH practices in epidemics and pandemics across the globe. Further, COVID-19 surge succession is presented along with data of different variants that have occurred. The need of WASH understanding is required using different tools (audio-visual, social media, print media, and mass media) and strategies (communication, advocacy, and positive behavioral changes) for every individual as an act to counter consequences during and after the COVID-19 pandemic and as a routine practice for future preparedness. This Review gives a detailed concept of WASH understanding for every sector from community to government agencies and research professionals to act immediately for the sustainable future of humanity.