Water, Sanitation & Hygiene

Every day 4,000 children die from illnesses like diarrhea, dysentery, and cholera caused by dirty water and unhygienic living conditions. We can’t fight malnutrition without tackling the diseases that contribute to it. As part of our integrated approach to hunger, we’re getting safe water, sanitation, and hygiene services to communities in need all over the world.

What We Do

Provide Access to Safe Water

During emergencies, ACF trucks water into affected areas and installs storage tanks and reservoirs. Where water is scarce or unsafe, we drill and decontaminate wells, install hand-pumps, protect natural springs, tap aquifers, rehabilitate damaged infrastructure, and pipe water into hard-to-reach villages and health centers.

Promote Sanitation & Hygiene

To prevent outbreaks of disease during a crisis, ACF’s teams distribute hygiene kits and build latrines and hand-washing stations. In communities at risk, we construct water filters made from basic materials and teach healthy practices like hand-washing, cooking with clean utensils, and drawing water from protected sources.

Ensure Lasting Change

ACF’s commitment to community participation ensures long-term capacity: we train community-based water committees to manage their water and sanitation infrastructure themselves, and organize village health teams to model good sanitation and hygiene practices for their communities long after we leave an area.