Statement on FCDO announcement of new WASH funding at UN Water Conference

on
22 March 2023

"WaterAid is delighted to welcome this new initiative from the UK government for improving access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene in Asia and Africa where it is critically needed.

We fully expect this support from the UK government will help prevent deaths and disease, strengthen health systems and improve the life chances, especially of mothers, young children and infants.

AND we need to see many more initiatives like this, which can help reverse the steep falls in Overseas Development Assistance over recent years. The UN Water Conference 2023, which has just opened in New York, can play a key role in galvanising support to help get Sustainable Development Goal 6 back on track to provide water and sanitation for all and build resilience to climate change."

ENDS

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Notes to Editors:

WaterAid is working to make clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene normal for everyone, everywhere within a generation. The international not-for-profit organisation works in 28 countries to change the lives of the poorest and most marginalised people. Since 1981, WaterAid has reached 28 million people with clean water and nearly 29 million people with decent toilets.

For more information, visit our website , follow us on Twitter , or , or find us on ,or .

  • 771 million people in the world – one in ten – do not have clean water close to home.
  • Almost 1.7 billion people in the world – more than one in five – do not have a decent toilet of their own.
  • Over 300,000 children under five die every year from diarrhoeal diseases caused by poor water and sanitation. That's more than 800 children a day, or one child every two minutes.
  • Investing in safely managed water, sanitation and hygiene services provides up to 21 times more value than it costs.

    [1] WHO/UNICEF (2021) Progress on household drinking water, sanitation and hygiene 2000-2020. Joint Monitoring Programme. Geneva: World Health Organisation.

    [2] WHO/UNICEF (2021) Progress on household drinking water, sanitation and hygiene 2000-2020. Joint Monitoring Programme. Geneva: World Health Organisation.

    [3] WaterAid calculations based on: Prüss-Ustün A, et al. (2019). Burden of Disease from Inadequate Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Selected Adverse Health Outcomes: An Updated Analysis with a Focus on Low- and Middle-Income Countries. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health. vol 222, no 5, pp 765-777. AND The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (2020) Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Seattle, WA: University of Washington.

    [4] WaterAid. (2021) Mission-critical: Invest in water, sanitation and hygiene for a healthy and green economic recovery.

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