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Home , WASH

June 2018

About , and UNICEF The Children’s Fund (UNICEF) (WASH) works in more than 190 countries and territories to put children first. UNICEF WASH and Children has helped save more Globally, 2.3 billion people lack access to basic children’s lives than sanitation services and 844 million people lack any other humanitarian organization, by providing access to clean . The lack of health care and immuni­ these basic necessities isn’t just inconvenient zations, safe water and — it’s lethal. sanitation, nutrition, education, emergency relief Over 800 children die every day — about 1 and more. UNICEF USA supports UNICEF’s work every 2 minutes — from due to unsafe through fundraising, drinking water, poor sanitation, or poor advocacy and education in hygiene. Suffering and death from diseases the United States. Together, like , , , skin we are working toward the and eye infections, and dysentery day when no children die from preventable causes could be prevented by scaling up access and every child has a safe to adequate and sanitation and healthy childhood. facilities and eliminating open . For more information, visit unicefusa.org. Ensuring access to water and sanitation UNICEF has helped in schools can also help reduce the number increase school of children who miss out on their education enrollment in Malawi through the provision — especially girls. Scaling up access to of safe drinking water.

WASH also supports efforts to protect © UNICEF/UN040976/RICH vulnerable children from violence, exploitation and abuse, since women and girls bear Today, UNICEF has WASH programs in 113 the heaviest burden in water collection, countries to promote the survival, protection often undertaking long, unsafe journeys and development of children and support to collect water. behavior change around WASH. UNICEF works directly with governments, community based UNICEF and WASH organizations and families to ensure access to Since 2014, more than 150 million people clean and secure supplies of water and benefited from improved water supplies as a convenient sanitary facilities. Improving result of UNICEF’s direct support; two thirds sanitation and hygiene in schools is a core pillar of these individuals were in emergency of programs to increase school attendance, and contexts. UNICEF programs that started with empower children as agents of change in their an emphasis on water supply hardware, such homes and communities. As the lead as drilling rigs and hand pumps, have evolved emergency agency in the WASH sector, toward a focus on sanitation and the “software” UNICEF offers a core package of water, of supporting policy development, building the sanitation and hygiene interventions in times capacity of institutions and raising awareness of humanitarian emergency. about hygiene. 2017 UNICEF WASH Snapshot water supplies and 22 million with improved In 2017, UNICEF: sanitation, the highest numbers ever reached. Over 800 children ● Invested $1 billion to reach the most ● Improved WASH facilities and services in vulnerable children and families around the over 51,000 schools and 5,000 health die every world access WASH. centers, since 2014. day — about

● Carried out water sanitation, and hygiene ● Distributed 3.5 million hygiene kits, 1 every 2 programs in 113 countries with 650 including immediate response kits, family minutes — experts. hygiene and dignity kits and locally designed kits — more then double the from diarrhea ● Continued to coordinate WASH number procured the year before. humanitarian action as lead agency of the due to unsafe WASH Cluster, in a total of 69 countries. ● Improved WASH facilities and services in drinking over 51,000 schools and 5,000 health ● Reached 45 million people with improved centers, since 2014. ● water, poor sanitation, or workers have taught poor hygiene. Amnata child health-related interventions, including and other good hygiene practices. © UNICEF/UN065186/PHELPS