This is a representative list of resources relevant to water/sanitation/hygiene; the list is a work in progress.

Many of the resources listed below have multiple areas of interest.  When possible, we provided a direct link to a web page (perhaps one of many) dedicated to some aspect of drinking water, sanitation, and/or hygiene issues. If that has not been possible, please search the site for the information you seek.

For information on the impact of water on corporations, economic development, gender, etc. click here.

CARE Advocacy Tools and Guidelines
CARE provides a general set of tools and guidelines to provide a step by step guide for planning advocacy initiatives, as well as advice for successful implementation.

United States Government
For suggestions on how to advocate for safe drinking water and sanitation with US elected officials, please see the Advocacy page on this site.

WaterAid Advocacy Guide
This guide, jointly produced by Tearfund and WaterAid, aims to inform and equip NGOs and other civil society organizations to engage with water policy reform processes that involve the private sector

WHO: An advocacy guide
This guide offers suggestions for organizing events focused on global water needs and World Water Day.

United Nations and UN Agencies

UN-Water
UN-Water is the official United Nations portal for follow-up of the water-related decisions reached at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development and the Millennium Development Goals. The site focuses on all water issues, not just safe drinking water.

UN Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation
This independent body was established in 2004 by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to advise him as well as to galvanize global action on water and sanitation issues.
Please note the library available here, with many documents available online. 

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Water and Sanitation Portal
UNICEF works in more than 90 countries to improve water supplies and sanitation facilities in schools and communities, and to promote safe hygiene practices. The website contains information documenting the need, stories from those who have been helped, documents, games and a website for children and youth as well as pedagogical materials for teachers.

UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD)
CSD-13 built upon the outcome of CSD-12 and adopted policy decisions on practical measures and options to expedite implementation of commitments in water, sanitation and human settlements.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

• Community Water Initiative
  The Community Water Initiative was developed in response to the World Summit on Sustainable Development call for concrete actions to meet global challenges in the field of water and sanitation. Inspired by the success of other UNDP programs, such as UNDP/GEF Small Grants Programme, the Local Facility for Urban Environment, and Africa 2000, the Community Water Initiative has functioned as a decentralized, demand driven funding mechanism for sustainable community-based water and sanitation development and management. The Initiative operates closely with the existing UNDP small grant mechanisms and includes their proven effective features.
  
• Water Governance
  Water Governance refers to the range of political, social, economic, and administrative systems that are in place to develop and manage water resources and the delivery of water services at different levels of society. It comprises the mechanisms, processes, and institutions through which all involved stakeholders, including citizens and interest groups, articulate their priorities, exercise their legal rights, meet their obligations and mediate their differences.
  

United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Water
Portal
The UNESCO Water Portal is intended to enhance access to information related to freshwater available on the World Wide Web. The site provides links to the current UNESCO and UNESCO-led programs on freshwater and will serve as an interactive point for sharing, browsing and searching websites of water-related organizations, government bodies and NGOs, including a range of categories such as water links, water events, learning modules and other on-line resources.

UN Habitat Water and Sanitation
The highest priority for UN-HABITAT's Water and Sanitation program is improved access to safe water and adequate sanitation to millions of low-income urban dwellers. Although the task is enormous, it is not insurmountable. Improving access to water and sanitation in low income urban settlements is possible. UN Habitat has regional programs for African and for Asian cities as well as special initiatives for the Lake Victoria and Mekong River regions.

Water Supply & Sanitation Collaborative Council
The Council exists under a mandate from the United Nations. It focuses exclusively on those people around the world who currently lack water and sanitation and emphasizes the need to view water/sanitation/hygiene (WASH) as an inseparable trinity for development.

World Health Organization (WHO)
The WHO site for drinking water includes information on activities, reports, news and events, as well as contacts and cooperating partners in the various WHO programs and offices working on this topic.

WHO and UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP)
WHO and UNICEF teamed up in 1990 to track progress on global water and sanitation goals through the Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation.

Other US and International Organizations

African Ministerial Council on Water (AMCOW)
AMCOW was established in 2002 to provide political leadership, policy direction and advocacy and strengthen intergovernmental cooperation to address the water and sanitation issues in Africa.

Carter Center
The Carter Center, in partnership with Emory University, is committed to advancing human rights and alleviating unnecessary human suffering. Among its activities, the Carter Center focuses on the alleviation or eradication of a number of water-related diseases.

Center for Global Safe Water (CGSW), Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University
CGSW conducts applied research, evaluation, and training to promote global health equity through universal access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene solutions for the world's most vulnerable populations.

EU Water Initiative (EUWI)
EUWI, formed in 2002 after the Johannesburg Summit, was designed to serve as a catalyst and foundation upon which to build activities contributing to reaching the water and sanitation MDGs.

International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)
IISD, founded in 1990, provides electronic reports on international negotiations and activities pertaining to sustainable development.

IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre, based in The Netherlands, has news and information, advice, research and training, on low-cost water supply and sanitation in developing countries.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine – Hygiene Centre
The Hygiene Centre seeks to develop a better understanding of hygiene and sanitation practices which can be used to inform public health policy and to apply that knowledge to help improve hygiene, sanitation and household water treatment worldwide.

Millennium Project’s Task Force on Water and Sanitation
The Millennium Project was commissioned by the UN Secretary-General in 2002 to develop a concrete action plan for the world to reverse the grinding poverty, hunger and disease affecting billions of people. The full report on water is available online. Note that Chapter 2 has a good overview of the multiplier effects, the argument for including water, sanitation and hygiene in all development work.

National Academies of  Science (NAS) - Safe Drinking Water is Essential
The Marian Koshland Museum of the NAS created this virtual exhibition to illustrate the global needs for safe drinking water and to explore possible solutions

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
The OECD has 30 member countries and has relationships with 70 other countries as well as NGOs and civil society. It is noted for its publications and statistics on economic and social issues as well as its role in fostering good governance in the public and corporate sectors. The OECD and the UN Secretary-General's Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation are working together to increase global access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation.

Pacific Institute
Founded in 1987 and based in Oakland, California, the Pacific Institute is an independent, nonpartisan think-tank studying issues at the intersection of development, environment, and security. Dr. Peter H. Gleick is President.

Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI)
SIWI, a policy institute contributing to international efforts to find solutions to the world’s
water and sanitation needs, organizes World Water Week held annually in Stockholm.

Water and Sanitation Program (WSP)
This is an international partnership of the world's leading development agencies concerned with improving sector policies, practices and capacities to alleviate poverty by helping the poor gain sustained access to water and sanitation services.

Water, Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC)
WEDC, a self-funding organization at Loughborough University in the UK, focuses on education, training, research, and consultancy relating to the planning, provision, and management of infrastructure for development. WEDC is devoted to activities that improve the health and well-being of people living in both rural areas and urban communities and encourages the integration of technological, environmental, social, economic, and management inputs for effective and sustainable development.

WELL
The WELL resource centre network provides access to information and support in water, sanitation and environmental health for the Department for International Development (DFID) of the British Government. The management is led by a core team from WEDC (see above).

World Water Assessment Program (WWAP)
The WWAP focuses on assessing the developing situation as regards freshwater throughout the world. Among its activities is the publication of the World Water Development Report.

World Water Council
The World Water Council is an international multi-stakeholder platform dealing with water policy topics. It was established in 1996 in response to an increasing concern about world water issues from the global community.

Events

Blue Planet Run
Blue Planet Run aims to raise money and awareness to provide safe drinking water to every person on the planet.  To that end, they are organizing Blue Planet Run, the longest relay race in the world to focus attention on the issue.

Global Development Marketplace (DM)
The Development Marketplace is a competitive grant program of the World Bank that funds innovative, small-scale development projects that deliver results and show potential to be expanded or replicated. Thematic areas vary each year.

United Nations Second International Decade for Water: 2005-2015
The primary goal of the 'Water for Life' Decade is to promote efforts to fulfill international commitments made on water and water-related issues by 2015.

World Water Day
The international observance of World Water Day on March 22 is an initiative that grew out of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro.

World Water Week
World Water Week is an annual event organized by the Stockholm International Water Institute for the benefit of the world’s water community.

World Water Forum
The World Water Forum, organized by the World Water Council in collaboration with the authorities of the host country, is held every three years.

Development Banks

African Development Bank Group  (AfDB)
The AfDB began operations in 1967; there are 77 member countries from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas.

Asian Development Bank
Water for All is the Asian Development Bank's vision for the Asia and Pacific region. For 2006-2010, ADB expects to double its investments in the water sector through its new Water Financing Program, which will direct funds, reforms and capacity development programs at rural communities, cities and river basins.
This website provides information on ADB's operations, partnerships, knowledge products and other efforts to catalyze reforms and investments in the region's water sector.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
The EBRD has 60 member countries and works in 27 countries from central Europe to central Asia to help build market economies and democracies. Even with its public sector shareholders, it invests mainly in private enterprises, usually together with commercial partners. Please search the site for water information.

Inter-American Development Bank (IADB)
The IADB, founded in 1959, currently has 47 member countries. Its work focuses on the Latin America and Caribbean countries.

International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank)

• Water Resources Management
  The World Bank’s work is organized here in a number of sub-sectors including water supply and sanitation, environment, irrigation and drainage, and hydropower. It serves to assess and disseminate lessons learned, to publicize knowledge management and policies and guidelines, and to facilitate cooperation on water issues.
  
• Water Supply and Sanitation
  The website provides information on the World Bank’s strategy and policies, lending portfolio, and knowledge and learning. The information is presented by region as well as topic.
  
• WSP Water and Sanitation Program
  The Water and Sanitation Program (WSP), established in 1979 as a cooperative effort between The World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme, looks at costeffective technologies and models for providing safe water and sanitation to the world's poor. The program has now expanded to include a focus on capacity building—forming partnerships with and between nongovernmental organizations, governments at all levels, community organizations, private industry, and donors to effect the regulatory and structural changes needed for broad reform.
  
• WSP Water and Sanitation Program ACCESS newsletter
  Click here to sign up for this free monthly e-newsletter.
  

Islamic Development Bank
The Islamic Development Bank works globally in member countries which are part of the Organization of the Islamic Conference. Water accounts for nearly 20% of the Bank’s financial commitments, primarily domestic and irrigation water. Please search the site for specific water projects.

US Government

United States Department of State
This page links to the Strategy document and related events for implementation of the Paul Simon Water for the Poor Act.

United States Agency for International Development
USAID annually reports to Congress on Investments in Drinking Water Supply Projects and Related Activities.

The Hygiene Improvement Project (HIP) is a USAID-funded program that works at scale to improve and sustain hygiene practices.

United States Senate

United States House of Representatives

The White House

Library of Congress’ THOMAS legislative information search engine

Millennium Challenge Corporation

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
The CDC is a component of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which is charged with protecting the health and safety of all Americans and for providing essential human services, especially for those people who are least able to help themselves.

Non-US Government

Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)

Denmark Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA)

UK Department for International Development (DFID)

Partnerships

Building Partnerships for Development (BPD) in Water and Sanitation
BPD Water and Sanitation is an international cross-sector (government, business, civil society and donors) learning network focused on improving access to safe water and effective sanitation in poor communities. 

Global Water Challenge (GWC)
The GWC is a coalition of corporations, foundations, and aid organizations that form partnerships to provide safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene education.

USAID's Global Development Alliance (GDA)
The GDA links US foreign assistance with the resources of the private sector and nongovernmental organizations to create partnerships to address global development needs.

West Africa Water Initiative (WAWI)
WAWI currently focuses its work on safe water and sanitation, disease reduction, water management and effective partnerships in three countries in West Africa: Ghana, Mali and Niger. Most of the activity is focused in rural areas, with two new activities to be started in peri-urban Bamako (Mali) and Tamale (Ghana).

Sanitation and Hygiene

Most links on this page have information on sanitation and hygiene.  Included here is a selected list of relevant resources.

UN Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation (UNSGAB) - International Year of Sanitation 2008
On the recommendation of UNSGAB, the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, December 20, 2006, declared 2008 the International Year of Sanitation (IYS). This site contains the documents and information on the background meetings as well as a link to UNSGAB’s main page.

The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) - International Year of Sanitation 2008
UNDESA is coordinating the International Year of Sanitation, in broad partnership with stakeholders including UN agencies, NGOs, the private sector and academia, to raise awareness and to accelerate progress on sanitation. This is the official website of the Year and contains the action plan, events listing and library with background and technical information.

Handwashing Handbook
The Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing is a global initiative to promote handwashing with soap to reduce diarrhea, a major cause of child mortality in many countries today.

Hygiene Improvement Project (HIP)
HIP is a USAID-funded program that works at scale to improve and sustain hygiene practices.

LatinoSan 2007
Eighteen Latin American Countries sign the Cali Declaration to close the first regional conference on sanitation with a commitment to pursue the MDG sanitation target and the objectives of the International Year of Sanitation.

State of the World's Toilets
This report from WaterAid covers every aspect of the humble yet vital toilet, highlighting the fact that while in the developing world we take our toilets for granted, for many communities in developing countries plastic bags or secluded bushes are as close as they get to sanitation provision. The report ranks the world s countries for sanitation provision; with 40% of the world's population lacking somewhere safe to go to the toilet, the list is long and made up of some of the poorest countries in the world.

Toolkit on Hygiene, Sanitation, and Water in Schools
This website provides information and resources regarding the need, sector assessments, and the project cycle.

Water and Sanitation Program Cartoon Calendars
The Water and Sanitation Program's annual Cartoon Calendar uses humor to raise awareness of the multiple and complex issues surrounding the provision of water supply, sanitation, and hygiene services for poverty reduction.

Water Advocates page on Health and Water 

Rainwater Harvesting

Centre for Science and Environment Rainwater Harvesting.org (CSE)
This site, focused on rainwater practices in India, includes advocacy and technical information as well as case studies for both rural and urban areas.

Domestic Rainwater Harvesting 
This Fact Sheet prepared by the Well Centre in the UK gives an overview of systems, component technology, planning and management and the potential effects and impacts.

Global Rainwater Harvesting Collective

Greater Horn of Africa Rainwater Partnership (GHARP)
GHARP was established in March 2001 to promote rainwater harvesting systems for improving water supply, sanitation, health, nutrition, food security, enterprises creation, environmental management and sustainable livelihoods.

International Rainwater Harvesting Alliance (IRHA)
IRHA, founded in 2002 in Johannesburg at the World Summit on Sustainable Development to unify rainwater harvesting organizations around the world, promotes rainwater harvesting within the context of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) and links local social and economic development with the protection of vital ecosystems.

IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre – links for Rainwater Harvesting
The IRC, founded in 1968, facilitates the sharing, promotion and use of knowledge so that governments, professionals and organizations can better support poor men, women and children in developing countries to obtain water and sanitation services they will use and maintain. The information on rainwater runs the gamut from technical information to multiplier effects and social and cultural issues.

Technical Information to Develop a Project

Many of the resources listed here offer a great deal of technical information on specific aspects of water/sanitation/hygiene projects.

Centre for Science and Environment Rainwater Harvesting.org (CSE)
This site, focused on rainwater practices in India, includes advocacy and technical information as well as case studies for both rural and urban areas.

Clean Water: What is Acceptable Microbial Risk?
This report from the American Academy of Microbiology examines the risks related to pathogens in the water supply and puts forth recommendations for areas of research, communication needs, and methods of microbial risk assessment.

Environmental Health Project (EHP)
EHP, an initiative of USAID, maintains an online database if technical documents dating from the 1980s.

Handwashing Handbook
The Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing is a global initiative to promote handwashing with soap to reduce diarrhea, a major cause of child mortality in many countries today.

Hygiene Improvement Project (HIP)
HIP is a USAID-funded program that works at scale to improve and sustain hygiene practices.

International Rainwater Harvesting Alliance (IRHA)
IRHA,founded in 2002 in Johannesburg at the World Summit on Sustainable Development to unify rainwater harvesting organizations around the world, promotes rainwater harvesting within the context of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) and links local social and economic development with the protection of vital ecosystems.

Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs: Safe Water (CCP)
CCP works with local governments, communities, and organizations to communicate the benefits of safe water and clean environments.

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine – Hygiene Centre
The Hygiene Centre seeks to develop a better understanding of hygiene and sanitation practices which can be used to inform public health policy and to apply that knowledge to help improve hygiene, sanitation and household water treatment worldwide.

Safe Drinking Water Alliance (SDWA)
SDWA, which in addition to CCP includes Procter & Gamble, CARE and Population Services International, works to further the use of point-of-use (POU) technologies globally to assist those without access to potable water.

Toolkit on Hygiene, Sanitation, and Water in Schools.
This website provides information and resources regarding the need, sector assessments, and the project cycle.

Water for the World Technical Notes
Lifewater International maintains an online technical library. The basis of this collection is the set of 160 technical notes developed by USAID in the 1980s. Lifewater adds other pertinent documents to the collection as well.

Information and Communications Resources

Circle of Blue
Circle of Blue is a communications project utilizing a global network of journalists, photographers, writers, artists, filmmakers, Internet specialists, educators, researchers and data managers to propel water awareness into the mainstream human dialog with the goal of catalyzing the political will for social change.

Development Gateway
The Development Gateway, launched by the World Bank, is now an independent nonprofit organization. It utilizes the internet to provide information exchanges and build local capacity.

Middle East/North Africa (MENA) Water Resources and Wastewater Network
This is an electronic discussion group focused on sharing experience and knowledge for the sustainable management of water resources in this region.

Miscellaneous

Akvo - the open source for water and sanitation
Akvo's goal is to "provide free and open working knowledge, a collaborative community, micro finance solutions and a marketplace for the water and sanitation community." The site is still in the early stages but the developers encourage input and feedback from the users.

MDG Monitor
The MDG Monitor (a joint project of the United Nations, Google and Cisco) shows how countries are progressing in their efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The Monitor is designed as a tool for policymakers, development practitioners, journalists, students and others to track progress through interactive maps and country-specific profiles, learn about countries' challenges and achievements, read the latest news and support organizations working on the MDGs around the world. The homepage also includes a countdown to 2015 clock.

Millennium Development Goals Indicators
This site presents the official data, definitions, methodologies and sources for the 48 indicators to measure progress towards the Millennium Development Goals.

National Ground Water Association (NGWA)
NGWA is a trade association for anyone involved with the ground water industry.

Peace Corps WorldView
Published by the National Peace Corps Association, WorldView provides the Peace Corps perspective. The Winter 2005 edition focuses on global drinking water needs.

Water Environment Federation (WEF)
WEF is a technical and educational membership organization that works toward the preservation and enhancement of the global water environment. Membership includes individuals and corporations in 30 countries.

Water Footprint
The water footprint of an individual, business or nation is defined as the total volume of fresh water that is used to produce the foods and services consumed by the individual, business or nation. A water footprint is generally expressed in terms of the volume of water use per year.

Water Integrity Network (WIN)
WIN was officially launched by Transparency International (TI), and five leading water organizations during the 2006 World Water Week in Stockholm. Its mission is to promote anti-corruption solutions in water, sanitation and water resources management worldwide

WaterWiki
An initiative of UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), this website is for knowledge sharing and on-line collaboration among Water Governance practitioners and UNDP-partners in Eastern Europe, Caucasus and CIS.

Implementing Organizations

Implementing organizations are an excellent source of information regarding water/sanitation/hygiene issues, technical information, and case studies for specific projects. For a representative list of such organizations, please click here.

Reports and Documents

Water's Impact On...

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