access to water and sanitation

Every human being has a right to safe drinking water. Although this right is widely acknowledged, more than one billion people – that is one person in six – still lack access to water. Considerably more have inadequate access to water, struggling each day to procure sufficient water to meet their basic needs. The consequences can be devastating: extreme poverty, serious health problems, high child mortality, and stagnant economic growth.

Aidenvironment has taken in house two initiatives that focus on providing accessible long-term solutions to inadequate water access, the RAIN Foundation and the Micro Water Facility.

The Rain Foundation (RAIN) started in 2003 with the implementation of rainwater harvesting projects in rural areas where other sources of water are inaccessible or inadequate. In such areas, rainwater harvesting can provide an effective solution to water scarcity. Rainwater harvesting has been practiced for centuries and is a simple and low-cost technique. The decentralized nature of rainwater harvesting enables people to secure and manage their own water supply at household and community level. Sustainability in RAIN’s projects is assured by its participatory and bottom-up approach, which focuses on involvement of beneficiaries within the projects. To increase the effectiveness of this approach, RAIN strongly emphasizes capacity strengthening and development as well as the exchange of knowledge and expertise.

The RAIN program is currently active in Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal, Ethiopia and Nepal and has already provided more than 24,000 people with drinking water. www.rainfoundation.org

The Micro Water Facility (MWF) was established in July 2007. MWF is a non-profit initiative that helps realize small-scale and innovative solutions aimed at improving access to clean drinking water and sanitary water in poor countries in Africa and Asia. MWF helps enterprises and project organizations develop sound business plans and form fertile partnerships with development organizations, investors and donors. In its first year MWF successfully matched partners for four projects and increased access to water and proper sanitation for over 35,000 people. MWF has a promising portfolio for the coming years. www.microwaterfacility.org