4.1 million people don't have a decent toilet.
4.1 million people don't have a decent toilet.
That's more than 8 in every 10 people.
Around 1 in 4 people don't have clean water.
Around 1 in 4 people don't have clean water.
That's 1.2 million people still without this essential service.
More than 800 children under five die a year from diarrhoea.
More than 800 children under five die a year from diarrhoea.
Caused by dirty water and poor toilets.
What does WaterAid do in Liberia?
We install taps and toilets and so much more – from influencing national policies and budgets to giving people the knowledge and the confidence to claim their human rights. Water and toilets should be normal for everyone, everywhere, and in Liberia we are helping make that a reality.
In 2014, after a successful trial project, we were about to launch a joint Liberia and Sierra Leone programme when an outbreak of Ebola swept across the country – poor hygiene and dirty water helped it to spread. We resumed work in 2015, collaborating with communities to make safe water, sanitation and hygiene solutions that will protect their health into the future.
Clean water after Ebola
Yeartee Barteh is a cleaner at the Pipeline Health Centre in Paynesville, Monrovia.
She used to walk to a well every morning because the clinic did not have its own water supply. But often the well did not have enough either, so she would pay children to find water elsewhere for her.
During the Ebola outbreak, Yeartee’s job became much harder and more dangerous. She had to clean constantly to prevent the spread of the disease, but it was hard to find enough water. The chlorine-treated water she used was so strong it made her skin peel.
One day, she was sent home and quarantined – an Ebola patient had stayed at the clinic and her managers feared she may have contracted it too. “21 days passed, I was alright,” she says. But others were not so fortunate. “The patient died, and the doctor who treated them also died."
By bringing running water to the health centre, we have been able to make life easier and safer for everyone in the community. Yeartee is excited: “Drawing water is my greatest challenge. What I need to make my job better is a good running water system because water is everything.”