Provision of water, sanitation and hygiene

Helping the world's poorest people gain access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene education is our key goal.

We believe that water, sanitation and hygiene are the essential foundations to all other forms of development and are vital for poverty reduction.

They not only improve health and release time and energy but also improve poor people's income, education and social and cultural wellbeing. These initiatives can also act as a catalyst for communities to carry out further development work themselves, enabling them to take their next steps towards better futures.

WaterAid works to improve poor people's access to water, sanitation and hygiene in four different ways:

WaterAid-funded project work
WaterAid directly funds local partner organisations to carry out water, sanitation and hygiene education work.

Levered project work
WaterAid supports local partners to raise their own funds, and retains a significant influence over the way these funds are spent on water, sanitation and hygiene education projects.

Scaling up partnerships
WaterAid works in long-term partnerships to help improve the capacity of major donors and governments to deliver more sustainable and equitable water and sanitation services.

Policy advocacy
WaterAid and its partners work with others to influence and change donor and government policies, particularly in the 15 countries where its work is focused, to favour pro-poor, sustainable and cost effective water and sanitation services.