WASH and Water Governance
The most vulnerable women, men and children in the world suffer from dirty and scarce water. Every year, we help almost 600,000 people get access to drinking water and basic sanitation.
Why water matters
If you live in a high-income country, you probably consume at least 150 liters of clean water per day for cooking, cleaning and washing. That is approximately two full bathtubs.
While many of us take water for granted, women and girls in poor communities often spend several hours a day fetching water on their heads and backs. Despite significant progress in recent years, one in ten people around the world lack access to basic water services, and one in five lack access to basic sanitation. Many illnesses in low-income countries are caused by dirty water and poor hygiene.
Nafissatou Bagana, midwife at the Sirarou maternity ward, Benin
What we do
The human right to water and sanitation is at the center of our work at Helvetas. We support poor and disadvantaged people in their efforts to build wells and latrines, but we also go beyond this. We promote a comprehensive approach that includes distributing water resources fairly, managing water supply services in a sustainable manner, efficiently irrigating fields and improving hygiene practices.
In the past five years, over 2,000,000 people have gained access to clean water and sanitation through the support of Helvetas.
Our Expertise and Services
Our approach builds on local ownership and initiative and tackles the root causes of problems related to water and sanitation – not just symptoms. Our multilingual WASH and Water governance team provides advisory services both to Helvetas and external clients.
