Many people aren’t aware of just how many people around the world don’t have access to safe drinking water and proper sanitation options when it comes to disposing human waste and grey water. This means millions of people around the world don’t have access to clean drinking water and appropriate toilet facilities which impacts not only on their health, but also their ability to learn, work and live in relative comfort.
Many of us in first world countries don’t think twice when we turn on a tap and we’re welcomed instantly with clean drinking water. Millions of people around the world need to travel by foot, sometimes for hours, just to access clean drinking water. For most of us, the simple act of going to the bathroom is something we do daily, without having to worry about where the waste goes, how it may impact our health or cause diseases in our community.
Open defecation is still a major issue in many countries around the world, so Ecoflo-WASH is working hard with many Governments, NGO’s and other organisations to help raise awareness about these issues along with helping communities that suffer from poor water sanitation practices with education and the provision of composting toilets, toilet building plans, water sanitation advice and other related products and information.
But what about all the other organisations out there that deserve recognition for the great work they do in the areas of water, sanitation and hygiene? We’re here to let you know a little about them and what they do.
Unicef WASH Program
Because water, sanitation and hygiene are interdependent by nature, Unicef has created a campaign around creating awareness surrounding these issues. Their focus is very much in emergency areas and also in schools to help educate and free people from the diseases, health and economic-related issues faced with poor sanitation and hygiene.
Along with producing education materials Unicef also have some great reports about sanitation issues like UNICEF’s game plan to end open defecation, Diarrhoea: why children are still dying and what can be done and this great Sanitation Monitoring Toolkit
https://www.unicef.org/wash/3942_3952.html
World Vision
World Vision has helped millions of people around the world to gain access to clean water and has helped improve the lives and reduce health-related issues for many people world wide. Working with many members of the public through their sponsors program – along with aligning themselves with many organisations and governments, they’re helping promote Field programs and advocacy work for clean water and sanitation projects.
https://www.worldvision.com.au/
The Water and Sanitation Program
The Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) is a multi-donor partnership, part of the World Bank Group's Water Global Practice, supporting poor people in obtaining affordable, safe, and sustainable access to water and sanitation services and working with a wide range of water and sanitation based organisations to help promote and provide clean drinking water.
WaterAid
A great Australian organisation that is promoting the use of clean water solutions, pump options for water, borehole drilling, different toilet options (composting toilets, The VIP Ventilated Improved Pit latrine) and are working hard to help promote education about water health and proper sanitation.
TEAR
The motivation behind the TEAR organisation is very simple... “Clean Water and Sanitation – toilets, wells, pumps and pipes for communities”. In conjunction with local Christian development organisations they work closely with members of communities as they believe that when community members participate at every level of project implementation, it results in transformation that can be sustained long after the project draws to a close.
WASHfunders
WASHfunders helps people to access safe water. Worldwide, 663 million people do not have reliable access to clean water, and a staggering 2.4 billion do not have adequate sanitation. Over 315,000 children die every year from diarrheal diseases caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation.
Civil Society Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (CS WASH) Fund
The Civil Society Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (CS WASH) Fund was an AU$103 million investment by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade that supported Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to implement 29 WASH projects from 2013 – 2018.
World Water Council
The World Water Council works towards action surrounding critical water issues at all levels. They engage in debate and challenging conventional thinking of the political dimensions of water security, adaptation and sustainability.
http://www.worldwatercouncil.org/en
The Asia-Pacific Water Forum (APWF)
The Asia-Pacific Water Forum (APWF) is an independent and not-for-profit network organisation who look at providing opportunities for sustainable water management in Asia and the Pacific. They do this by providing assistance with Financing and Capacity Development, Water-related Disaster Management and conserving and restoring land-water interfaces for the improvement of water productivity.
There are many other organisations around the world doing great work in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene however to list them all would make for a very long article. Our focus is to bring attention to the main players in the Asia Pacific region as that’s where Ecoflo-WASH’s focus is predominantly concentrated.
If you have a water-related project you think might make a good partnership with Ecoflo-WASH, please feel free to contact us and we would be more than happy to talk with you.