Celebrate International Women’s Day by attending Elevate Her: Empower, Inspire, Achieve with the International Rescue Committee and Operation Smile on March 7!
Through this fund, you will join with millions of people to change the world by helping to improve forest and freshwater management, build wells and piping systems, teach proper sanitation, install water stations and more. Your contributions go directly to supporting real and meaningful work to provide clean water to those who need it most.
Benjamin Franklin famously said, “When the well’s dry, we know the worth of water.” Those that live in the United States often do not think twice about the source of their water or whether it is safe to bathe in or drink. It is a luxury that billions of people worldwide do not know, an uncertainty that communities live with every day. Throughout the movement for clean water access is an acronym called WASH, which stands for “water, sanitation and hygiene services.” This concept is used widely by our charity partners and other government entities that focus on worldwide clean...
Globally, 1.8 billion people are at risk of infectious diseases because they use or work in a health facility that doesn’t have water. Such infections can lead to prolonged hospital stays, long-term disability and spiraling healthcare costs. High infection rates and poor water, sanitation and hygiene can damage trust in health systems and make patients less likely to seek care when they are sick. In the district of Geita, northwestern Tanzania, some healthcare facilities that don’t have water ask pregnant women to bring it with them when they give birth. If the nearest water source to the hospital is unsafe, or patients are unable to bring water with them, they must buy it from commercial vendors at inflated prices. Kalunde Rashid gave birth to her second child at Chikobe Health Center in Tanzania. “Mum is here taking care of me. She is old and could not go to collect water...