Printable Version

Welcome



Click here for a partial list of U.S.-based organizations involved with drinking water and sanitation projects around the world.

Clean water arriving for the first time in a Panamanian village
(Waterlines)


Water Advocates is the first US-based nonprofit organization dedicated solely to increasing American support for worldwide access to safe, affordable and sustainable supplies of drinking water and adequate sanitation.

Our purpose is advocacy, not implementation of projects. Water Advocates works with all sectors of American society to increase public and private-citizen funding for effective water, sanitation and hygiene projects and initiatives internationally, particularly those characterized by strong community involvement.   

More than 1.1 billion people lack access to safe water and 2.6 billion people lack even basic sanitary facilities.  Diseases caused by unsafe drinking water and inadequate sanitation remain humanity’s most serious public health threat, causing 80% of the sicknesses in developing countries and annually killing between 2 and 5 million people, mainly young children. Lack of water and sanitation undermines the sustainability of other critical needs, including education, economic development, nutrition, environmental health and gender equality.

Although the challenge is great, the solution is known and doable. From individuals to civic groups, from faith-based organizations to Congress, each American is able to join with communities around the world working to meet these basic needs.  Reducing water-related diseases hinges less on medical breakthroughs than on stronger political will and significantly increased funding.  For information on how you can help, click here.


At least 2.6 billion people – some 41 percent of the global population - do not have access to latrines or any sort of basic sanitation facilities. As a result millions suffer from a wide range of preventable illnesses, such as diarrhoea, which claim thousands of lives each day, primarily young children. To put the spotlight on this issue the UN General Assembly declared the year 2008 the International Year of Sanitation.

Improving access to sanitation is a good investment because:

 

More resources available on Water Advocates site.


 

1506 21st Street, NW, Washington D.C 20036| Tel (202) 293-4002 Fax (202)
1506 21st Street, NW, Washington D.C 20036| Tel (202) 293-4002 Fax (202) 293-4001 | Email: info (AT) wateradvocates.org