Sida's work with water and sanitation
Water is a basic requirement for all life on earth, and for sustainable development. Lack of water and sanitation is a huge health problem that particularly affects people living in poverty. Lack of water leads to increased inequality and hinders economic development. Sida increases access to clean water and sanitation and improves people's ability to manage their hygiene. Sida also provides humanitarian support that gives people in crisis access to water and sanitation.
Why do Sida work on water and sanitation?
Lack of water leads to poverty
Climate change with floods and droughts is causing water crises around the world. This is particularly hard on people living in low-income countries and those in areas of crisis or conflict. Lack of water and sanitation (toilets, sewage and waste management) leads to increased inequality and hinders economic development.
Lack of water affects human health
2.2 billion people in the world lack clean and safe drinking water. 1000 children under the age of five die every day due to diarrhoeal diseases caused by dirty water and leaking sewage pipes. Children who are in a crisis situation: displaced, living in a country at war or affected by crisis are the most affected.
Many do not have a toilet
Almost half of the world’s population does not have access to a functioning toilet or latrine, with nearly half of them in sub-Saharan Africa. As a result, many are forced to relieve themselves outdoors. This allows diseases to spread quickly through faeces. The situation is particularly serious for people living in vulnerability, displaced persons and those living in conflict zones.
Examples of what Sida contributes to:
More people have access to drinking water
Sida helps ensure that people living in poverty and vulnerability have access to safe drinking water. In Sudan, for example, 1,560 school children have gained access to clean drinking water in the Red Sea region, where only a third of the population has access to clean water. In Bangladesh, people living in urban slums have access to safe drinking water.
Water and sanitation for people in crisis
Without access to clean water and sanitation, people, especially children, are more likely to suffer from diseases, especially those living in war or conflict. The aid helps to increase access to clean water and toilets.
Clean water at health clinics
One in four of the world’s health clinics lacks clean water. The aid helps ensure that health clinics in low-income countries have access to clean water, hand-washing facilities, toilets and safe latrines. This reduces the spread of infection and improves people’s health.
Sida's work with water and sanitation
Lack of clean water is one of the world’s biggest health problems, particularly affecting people living in poverty. When people are unable to take care of their hygiene, diarrhoeal diseases and cholera spread. Children are particularly vulnerable. Children under five are 20 times more likely to die from dirty water and poor hygiene than to be killed in a violent conflict. Access to water is unevenly distributed. Drought, war and conflict exacerbate this inequality.
Today, a quarter of the world’s population lacks access to safely managed drinking water at home, and only just over half of all people have access to safe sanitation (toilets, garbage collection, drainage) in their homes. While progress is being made, 1.6 billion people will still be without clean, safe drinking water in 2030 if progress is not accelerated.
Here are the areas Sida supports and examples of programmes and projects:
Clean water, sanitation and access to hygiene are essential for keeping people healthy and preventing the spread of disease. When this is lacking, communities are hindered in their development and it becomes more difficult to fight poverty. A large part of the world’s health clinics lack clean water in connection with the clinic.
Sida supports organisations in civil society and through the UN that increase access to clean water, sanitation and the possibility for people to take care of their hygiene. This reduces poverty, improves human health and leads to development. Here are some examples of programmes and projects that Sida supports:
Around 1.8 billion people worldwide are unable to wash their hands with soap and water because they lack access to clean water. This is a major problem in Bangladesh, for example. Sida supports WaterAid, which works to raise awareness about maintaining good hygiene.
A quarter of the world’s health clinics lack clean, running water. This means that you have to fetch water outside the clinic, which is impractical and unhygienic. Sida collaborates with Unicef, among other things, to provide health clinics in Uganda and many other countries with running water.
Without access to clean water and sanitation, the risk of people suffering from diseases increases. Through the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF and the World Bank’s Global Water Security & Sanitation Partnership (GWSP), Sida contributes to more people having access to water and toilet rental. Sida’s humanitarian aid also supports UNICEF´s efforts to increase access to sanitation.
Global Water Security & Sanitation Partnership on the World Bank website
The Water Sector Trust Fund (WSTF) increases access to clean water and toilets in Kenya, both in rural and urban areas. This includes distributing water fairly, such as installing water meters to ensure that people do not take too much, which also allows water to flow downstream to other users. In this way, water is distributed fairly and conflicts can be avoided.
Sida also contributes to the work of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to improve access to water, sanitation and hygiene. This prevents the spread and negative effects of diseases among particularly vulnerable people in Kenyan cities.
Through the E5P (Eastern European Energy Efficiency and Environmental Partnership) fund, Sida is supporting the improvement of Armenia’s substandard waste management. The country also lacks a fully functioning recycling system. The fund also finances a project for environmentally friendly city buses in Yerevan.
Hundreds of millions of women and girls worldwide are severely affected by not having access to clean water or safe, private toilets. For cultural and historical reasons, women and girls (in 8 out of 10 households without water) are usually the main carers of water.
The lack of toilets and clean water in low-income countries means that many people miss school during their period. Taboos around menstruation often prevent them from fully participating in society, school and work. Without clean water, women cannot safely give birth, contributing to the deaths of both mothers and children.
Here are some examples of programmes and projects supported by Sida:
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) builds washbasins and separate toilets for girls and boys in schools across the world. Improving access to water, sanitation and hygiene in schools increases the chances of girls completing their education.
Many people in Mali lack access to clean water, toilets and washing facilities. Through Sida’s support to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), more people, especially women and children, have access to drinking water and sanitation (toilets, sewage and waste management). UNICEF works on everything from construction and maintenance to protection.
Only half of Burkina Faso’s population has access to clean water and even fewer have a toilet. This forces many women and girls to do their business outdoors and stay home from school during menstrual periods. The organisation WaterAid provides rural households and schools with access to clean drinking water and sanitation. This enables more girls to attend school for the whole month.
Conflicts, disasters, mismanagement and climate change negatively affect the world’s water resources. Conflicts also cause many people to flee to areas where there is a lack of clean water and toilets. Droughts and floods increase with climate change, which in turn leads to more people being forced to flee their homes.
Here are some examples of programmes and projects supported by Sida:
In Sudan, many people live in conflict environments without safe access to water. Efforts are being made to increase water availability, but not fast enough. Sida is working with several organisations to increase access.
In Bangladesh, few people have access to water and sanitation services in public places, such as health centers, schools and workplaces. People live tightly packed in the refugee camps, leaving them particularly vulnerable to the spread of infection. WaterAid improves access to water, sanitation and hygiene for those living in informal settlements.
Sida’s work to increase access to water and sanitation is guided by the strategy for global development cooperation in sustainable social development and several regional and bilateral strategies. 90 per cent of Sida’s work in water and health has gender equality as a sub- or main objective.
Updated: January 3, 2024