Water, Sanitation And Hygiene

Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) are crucial building blocks for development. They improve the quality of life and health, advance education, reduce poverty and malnutrition, increase child and maternal survival, drive economic growth and contribute to gender equality and dignity. Despite the importance of WASH in virtually all development outcomes, an estimated 884 million people still lack access to safe drinking water, and 2.6 billion lack basic sanitation. Every year, lack of water and sanitation costs sub-Saharan Africa around $23.5 billion, or 5 percent of its GDP.

Investments in water and sanitation are cost-effective, with an estimated $8 returned for every dollar invested.Safe water and improved sanitation provides a basic level of human security that, once reached, enables families and individuals to work to increase their standards of living, educate their children and become better stewards of the environment. Water is also a growing strategic issue whose provision increases the likelihood of peaceful solutions to resource allocation concerns (e.g. in water-stressed and arid areas).

The InterAction WASH Working Group’s purpose is to support U.S. NGOs in advocating for the comprehensive integration of WASH into U.S. and multilateral development programs.

If you are involved in international water, sanitation and hygiene work, you can sign up for InterAction's WASH Working Group by registering for an account and requesting membership. For more information on InterAction's WASH work, please contact Erin Jeffery.