WASH Program

What is the Solution?

We can’t fight life-threatening hunger and malnutrition without tackling the waterborne diseases that contribute to it. That’s why we bring safe water, sanitation, and hygiene services (known as WASH) to communities in need all over the world.

In fact, we provide WASH assistance to nearly seven million people every year.

We build and repair water points, toilets and latrines. We distribute water purification tablets and install water filters. We improve irrigation systems in rural communities. And in homes and schools, we teach people about the importance of good hygiene.

By employing sophisticated geophysics, we are also able to locate water resources and tap aquifers. We protect natural springs and pipe water into villages and health centres. And we repair damaged infrastructure to ensure access to adequate sources of clean water.

Our ability to deliver clean water is central to our comprehensive solutions to hunger and malnutrition.

Here are some examples of the work we do across the world.

In Nepal we’re helping women and their babies, providing items such as water purification tablets, kettles, water containers, solar water disinfection kits, baby cups, toddler mats, cloth nappies and baby-friendly jars. These all help to create a healthy, clean and safe home.

We are working with people in the Central African Republic to improve their health centres. Installing water filters and hand washing devices in hospitals and fixing and building water and waste treatment facilities. Healthcare workers are also trained in hospital hygiene and cleaning protocols and supplied with buckets, mops, gloves and bleach.

In Chad and Kenya we’re installing solar-powered water pumps and irrigation systems. In Chad, this is boosting farmers’ productivity by reducing the time they need to spend watering crops from six to two hours. And in Kenya, solar panel water pumps are cutting water collection times from four hours to 15 minutes. This means farmers can focus on other ways of making money and feeding their families.

In many of the countries in which we work, we set up cooperatives where people can come together, work through problems and create their own solutions.

We also provide training on how to run these cooperatives efficiently and effectively. This can be particularly powerful in situations where gender inequality is an issue.

For example, in Afghanistan, women in rural communities often have limited access to sanitary pads so we use the cooperative system to show people how to make reusable pads for menstruation. This not only improves the health and wellbeing of girls and women, but also provides a source of income and independence.

We also work in schools. In Liberia we are building water points in schools and training the students on how to maintain them as well as teaching then about good hygiene. In this way they become ambassadors of good hygiene practices at home, as well as being able to maintain waterpoints in their neighbourhoods.

In Jordan’s hot and arid climate, it’s vital to make every drop of water count. That’s why we are training farmers on water management techniques, including drip irrigation and rainwater harvesting. Where water systems exist, we provide training and equipment to detect leaks in pipes and the skills to repair them. In Iraq, in one six-month period we found and repaired nearly 60 leaks, ensuring people had a good, safe and plentiful water supply.

And we’re always innovating, looking for data and evidence on which to build even better policies and programmes. In Madagascar, the HydroNut research project is investigating the relationship between hydro-climatic data and the nutritional and health status of people in the local area. By doing this, we will be better able to predict and prevent nutrition crises.

Maintaining water supplies in the long-run

Developing and extending water and sanitation services involves much more than quick fixes. To sustain water and sanitation improvements, a community approach is central to building local capacity and encouraging a sense of ownership.

By organizing and training community-based “Water Committees”, we ensure local commitment to managing and maintaining the systems we repair and install. These Water Committees are made up of elected community members who manage water sources and sanitation infrastructure. We also organize local health workers and volunteers to pass on good sanitation and hygiene practices to their neighbours.

In our campaign to eliminate hunger, clean water is as essential as food, but only the cultivation of local know-how can ensure its sustainability.

Providing water in a crisis

While we focus on providing long-term access to safe water and good hygiene practices, we also know that disasters can have an impact on water supplies. So in a crisis, we truck water into communities, repair water sources and install storage tanks and reservoirs. We drill new wells and fix and decontaminate unsafe ones. Install hand-pumps and protect natural springs. And pipe water into hard-to-reach villages and health centres.

We’re also experts in coordinating activity. In a disaster, chaos can ensue. Our specialists are trained to help different agencies and local authorities work together to get water and sanitation facilities up and running quickly.

In so doing, we buy what we can from the local community to help strengthen the economy. This puts money and power in the hands of those communities we seek to help. And means that we can bring life-saving water to communities at risk.