WaterAid - Where we work

Where we work

WaterAid works in 27 countries worldwide, transforming millions of lives every year with safe water, sanitation and hygiene projects.

East Africa

: Percentage of population with access to sanitation (WHO/UNICEF 2012)
: Percentage of population with access to safe water (WHO/UNICEF 2012)

Woman with yellow water jug strapped to her back.

Ethiopia

Sanitation
Water

Health services are limited and water and sanitation facilities very rare in the vast expanses of Ethiopia.

Woman with jerrican on back rolling water barrel with foot.

Kenya

Sanitation
Water

Despite progress in many areas, Kenya’s water and sanitation coverage remains dangerously low.

Woman and small child on wooden bridge over a stream.

Rwanda

Sanitation
Water

The Rwanda Government is committed to providing water and sanitation, but millions remain unserved.

A person drinks water, the container covers their face

Tanzania

Sanitation
Water

Despite its abundance of lakes, safe water is in short supply in Tanzania and over 75% of people have no sanitation.

Uganda

Sanitation
Water

Uganda's basic services are still very patchy, leaving millions of desperately poor people without safe water and sanitation.

Southern Africa

: Percentage of population with access to sanitation (WHO/UNICEF 2012)
: Percentage of population with access to safe water (WHO/UNICEF 2012)

Angola

Sanitation
Water

After many years of war there is no clear data for Angola, but the water and sanitation situation is dire.

Woman with hat carrying box on head, in front of lake.

Lesotho

Sanitation
Water

There are severe water supply and hygiene problems in Lesotho, with the UN describing 40% of people as “ultra-poor”.

A girl fills her bucket from a handpump.

Madagascar

Sanitation
Water

On the huge island of Madagascar well over half the population has no safe water and only 11% have anywhere to go to the toilet.

Woman walking on dirt path through field of crops, carrying yellow jerrican.

Malawi

Sanitation
Water

Most Malawians live in rural communities where population density is high and water-related diseases and HIV/AIDS are widespread.

Children being splashed with water from newly drilled well.

Mozambique

Sanitation
Water

Dirty water and poor sanitation cause around 10% of all child deaths in Mozambique where extreme poverty remains widespread.

South Africa

The South Africa team helps to coordinate our operations across Southern Africa from our new regional office in Pretoria.

Two girls fill their watering cans from a pond beside the roadside.

Swaziland

Sanitation
Water

Dirty water and poor sanitation exacerbates Swaziland’s HIV/AIDS epidemic, with over 40% of the population infected.

A woman helps to lift a jerrican onto another woman's head.

Zambia

Sanitation
Water

Declining rainfall in Zambia is making water increasingly scarce, and over half the population has nowhere to go to the toilet.

West Africa

: Percentage of population with access to sanitation (WHO/UNICEF 2012)
: Percentage of population with access to safe water (WHO/UNICEF 2012)

A group of women fill their jerrycans from a handpump.

Burkina Faso

Sanitation
Water

Rapid urbanisation, drought and groundwater contamination create huge challenges in Burkina Faso.

Two people carry containers on their heads in a rural setting.

Ghana

Sanitation
Water

Despite Ghana's stability and relative prosperity, 80% of all diseases are caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation.

Women carrying water from the river in bowls on their heads.

Liberia

Sanitation
Water

Africa’s oldest republic is one of our newest programmes where we have started work in three marginalised and under-served regions.

Women balancing containers on their heads as they walk.

Mali

Sanitation
Water

Water quality is as big a problem as water scarcity in Mali, and over 70% of the population have nowhere to go to the toilet.

Women and small children standing on dusty plain.

Niger

Sanitation
Water

Niger is rated one of the world’s least developed countries, with more than 90% of people living without sanitation.

Nigeria

Sanitation
Water

In the most populous country in Africa almost half of Nigerians have no safe water and around 70% have no sanitation.

Senegal

The Senegal team helps to coordinate our operations across West Africa from our new regional office in Dakar, Senegal.

Two people hold a canoe steady in shallow water by dock.

Sierra Leone

Sanitation
Water

We recently returned to Sierra Leone as it rebuilds its infrastructure and basic services after the decade-long civil war.

Asia and Pacific

: Percentage of population with access to sanitation (WHO/UNICEF 2012)
: Percentage of population with access to safe water (WHO/UNICEF 2012)

Australia

The Australia team helps to coordinate and fund operations across our country programmes.

Mithun Mondal walks home with a jug of water through a landscape made barren by salination after cyclone Aila struck in 2009, Koyra Number 4, Ward 7, Koyra, Bangladesh.

Bangladesh

Sanitation
Water

Monsoon flooding, cyclones and arsenic in water sources are among the challenges for Bangladesh’s population.

Cambodia

Sanitation
Water

Cambodia remains one of the poorest nations in Southeast Asia. More than half the population lack adequate sanitation.

India

Sanitation
Water

The statistics are as vast as the country: over 700 million people in India have nowhere to go to the toilet and over 100 million have no safe water.

Japan

Our new Japan office is currently setting up its presence. Please get in touch with our Country Representative to find out more.

Children washing and drinking from water tap.

Nepal

Sanitation
Water

Rising from lowland plains into the Himalayas, the terrain in Nepal makes accessing safe water and sanitation all the more difficult.

Girl washing clothes in muddy water in swampy area.

Pakistan

Sanitation
Water

Pakistan’s political instability combined with its vulnerability to natural disasters pose huge challenges to poor communities.

Child wearing festive clothes and feathered headress, with face painted red and white.

Papua New Guinea

Sanitation
Water

Most people live in the mountainous interior of Papua New Guinea, where less than half the population has water and sanitation.

Timor-Leste

Sanitation
Water

As Timor-Leste rebuilds after the war with Indonesia, water and sanitation coverage remains dangerously low.

The Americas

: Percentage of population with access to sanitation (WHO/UNICEF 2012)
: Percentage of population with access to safe water (WHO/UNICEF 2012)

Girl in rural area standing in front of wooden home with clothes hanging to dry.

Nicaragua

Sanitation
Water

Nicaragua has the largest supply of freshwater in the region, and yet in some regions 80% of people lack access to safe drinking water.

United States

The America team helps to coordinate and fund operations across our country programmes, with Nicaragua a particular focus.

Europe

Sweden

The Sweden team helps to coordinate and fund operations across our country programmes.

United Kingdom

The UK team helps to coordinate and fund operations across our country programmes.

All statistics quoted from the WHO / UNICEF (2012) Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) report 2012 (http://www.wssinfo.org/). Report published every two years.

Latest news

View all news >

Cyclone Mahasen devastates coastal towns in Bangladesh 20 May 2013

Sabina, 10, leaving a hanging toilet in Mollar Slum, Mirpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh

The world is moving backwards on sanitation 17 May 2013

Nara Bahadur's children are so happy to see the water coming from tap

WaterAid welcomes push for universal access to water 16 May 2013