The latest World Health Organization (WHO) statistics reveal that 1.1 billion people in the world, roughly one-sixth of the world's population, do not have access to safe water. About 2.4 billion people suffer from inadequate sanitation while 2.2 million people in developing countries, most of them children, die every year from diseases associated with lack of access to drinking water.
In the Philippines alone, as of year 2000, there are still about 9 million Filipinos in the rural area alone (Global Water Supply and Sanitation Assessment 2000 Report) people who suffer from poor and unsafe sanitation. Most of them come from the marginalized sector of society.

In response to the challenges posed by the impending water and sanitation crisis throughout the world including the Philippines, Geneva-based Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) and Streams of Knowledge, The Global Coalition of Water and Sanitation Resource Centers, recently introduced the WASH-STREAMS PARTNERSHIP program through a launch held at Bayview Hotel in Pasay City.

The WASH-STREAMS partnership is undertaking an advocacy campaign to raise public awareness on the need for adequate and affordable safe water, improved sanitation and aggressive hygiene promotion. The partnership is composed of resource centers, non-government organizations (NGOs), people's organizations, private corporations and governments supporting the global water supply, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) promotion campaign spearheaded by WSSCC.

WSSCC is a multi-stakeholder organization with members in over 140 countries, including the Philippines. All member-countries are working together to help provide safe and adequate water and sanitation services for poor people around the world, with support from the national governments, private companies and other donors. WSSCC's WASH campaign seeks to gain the support of the international community to give higher priority to communities experiencing severe water, sanitation and hygiene crises through resource allocation.

Streams of Knowledge, on the other hand, is an international organization of water and sanitation resource centers committed to provide people with better access to water, sanitation and hygiene services through various trainings, knowledge and information dissemination programs, action research and technical advise. It has partners in Europe, Latin America, Southern, West and Eastern Africa and Asia.

Making Lives Better

"The WASH-STREAMS program is a contribution to make people's lives better through improved sanitation, hygiene promotion and water supply programs," said Gourisankar Ghosh, WSSCC Executive Director. "All concerned organizations and individuals are invited to join WASH-STREAMS and help make water, sanitation, and hygiene into a reality for all. After all, access to affordable water and sanitation services and hygiene awareness is a basic human right."

For the partnership, WSSCC and STREAMS will support the implementation of the WASH programs in the following countries: Kenya, Madagascar, Ghana, Burkina Faso, South Africa, Mozambique, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Colombia, and the Philippines.

"The partnership aims to mobilize men and women, young and old, rich and poor from communities, corporations, governments and other resource centers to accelerate progress in relation to sanitation, hygiene promotion and water supply goals in the country and global levels," said Rory Villaluna, Executive Secretary of Streams of Knowledge.

Considering Streams of Knowledge's coalition and affiliated regional networks of NGOs interacting with local communities, municipalities, and governments, the global organization is well positioned to facilitate partnership building to contribute to the concerted efforts under the WASH campaign by WSSCC.

According to Villaluna, the WASH-STREAMS program in the Philippines has already engaged various stakeholders from both government and non-government organizations, some donor agencies, corporations and local government units to support the WASH advocacy work in various levels.
"Initially, we have tapped their support for increased investments in water supply, sanitation and hygiene. Water is life but Sanitation is dignity and is necessary for a better quality of life so we need to ensure that we all work together to have a clean and healthy world by 2025.," Villaluna concluded.

For more information, please contact WSSCC Secretariat, International Environment House,
Chemin des Anemones 9, CH 1219, Geneva, Switzerland. Tel.+ (41-22) 917 8657 ; Fax.+(41-22) 917 8084.