The past few months have been difficult for everyone. While many of us are struggling to find the strength and courage to cope with the "new normal" and finding the best way to deal with the effects of the pandemic, there are millions of others across the country who are less fortunate and for whom the pandemic has not been merciful. In fact, it wasn’t too great before COVID-19 either. But it has become tougher now.
How? Think of this. While you time your handwashing for 20 seconds to protect yourself from Covid-19, data shows that more than 51 per cent rural households in the country do not have access to soap and water to wash hands.
We take it for granted, right? But for millions of people with no direct access to water, it’s a daily struggle. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of access to clean water in keeping diseases at bay. Water scarcity has always been a problem in India and now with this pandemic, this problem is going to be greatly amplified making the already difficult issue of the pandemic even harder to tackle.
With AXA XL’s support, we’ll be reaching more than 10,000 people in Fatehpur with year-round access to clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene.
About WaterAid
WaterAid is an international not-for-profit organisation, determined to make clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene normal for everyone, everywhere. Across India, millions of women are wasting precious time collecting dirty water, children are dying from preventable diarrhoeal diseases, and as a result communities as a whole suffer. Since 1986, WaterAid India has successfully implemented water, sanitation and hygiene projects to transform the lives of the poor and the most marginalised.
What do WaterAid do?
Water and sanitation are basic human rights, and we believe that universal access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services is achievable with the right political will and resources. Working at both the community and government level, we focus on five primary themes of work:
- Rural WASH
- Urban WASH
- WASH in schools
- WASH in health & nutrition
- WASH in disaster risk reduction & climate change adaptation Influencing long-lasting change is integral to everything that we do. We use our experience, our work with partner organisations and our learning through research and analysis to influence policy at local, state, national and global levels.