Water, Sanitation & Hygiene

Three months after devastating monsoon rains caused extensive flooding in southern Pakistan for the second consecutive year, Pakistan faces a critical shortage of emergency funding—despite the government’s request for international assistance—with millions of in need of critical support as winter approaches.

Following torrential rains and flooding triggered by a tropical depression in Guatemala, more than 16,700 families have been affected in the worst hit coastal areas of Escuintla, Santa Rosa, Jutiapa and San Marco, according to an assessment carried out by humanitarian organization Action Against Hunger | ACF International. In response, Action Against Hunger has distributed drinking water, hygiene kits, and therapeutic ready-to-use foods to meet the immediate needs of the communities most-affected.

Life threatening conditions have reached catastrophic levels in the Horn of Africa, with the United Nations declaring famine in parts of Somalia, but people can still save lives and help restore self-sufficiency, says veteran newsman Dan Rather in a new public service announcement (PSA) produced for Action Against Hunger.

Action Against Hunger’s partnership with Tyco International, the Clean Water Access Initiative, has made an emergency grant of $50,000 in support of a clean water project in a drought-stricken region of Kenya.

Heavy monsoon rains in the late summer months have caused several major rivers in Bangladesh to burst their banks, displacing 1.5 million people and inflicting significant damages on the country’s crops and productive resources. Action Against Hunger’s experts are also concerned that the resulting stagnant or standing water will lead to outbreaks of waterborne illnesses in the coming weeks—outbreaks that can contribute to malnutrition among children under the age of five years.

To date, the floods have taken a debilitating toll on millions of people:

In an effort to enhance its emergency response across the Horn of Africa, which is facing its worst humanitarian crisis in decades, Action Against Hunger continues to ship water and sanitation equipment and critical food supplies to the region to reinforce its ongoing efforts.