Inadequate access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) has numerous societal impacts. For example, millions of children miss school as a result of being ill. Adults also miss work as a result of illness. Women and girls often spend hours hauling water from contaminated water sources. Improving access to water, sanitation and hygiene is necessary to the achievement of human and economic development.

WASH is severely impacted when natural or manmade disasters strike. The water supply may become contaminated, or existing water-related infrastructure may be damaged. When people do not have sufficient water for personal consumption and use, or the water they are using is contaminated, their health is greatly compromised.

For World Renew, much of its WASH work begins in the disaster setting, and develops into a longer term initiative over the course of the disaster response program. World Renew may initially provide emergency water immediately after the disaster. In the next months, World Renew works with local communities to rebuild their water supply, establish new or rebuild damaged sanitation facilities, and train communities in hygiene practices to prevent the spread of disease. An integrated WASH response is a crucial element of many of World Renew’s International Disaster Response initiatives.

  • Water responses include: emergency trucking of water, borehole drilling, water pan construction
  • Sanitation responses include: latrine construction and maintenance'
  • Hygiene responses include: training and mentoring in good hygiene practices