About Us
"We shall not finally defeat AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, or any of the other infectious diseases that plague the developing world until we have also won the battle for safe drinking water, sanitation and basic health care."— Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary-General
Global Water Challenge: Learn. Connect. Invest
Global Water Challenge (GWC) is committed to finding and implementing solutions by engaging people and their governments, spreading knowledge, and increasing access to markets. Our challenge is to reach people with the tools and education they need to empower themselves. Access to clean water and sanitation leads to healthier, longer and more productive lives, and breaks the cycle of poverty. Water and sanitation are not just human rights, they are human necessities.Global Water Challenge is a diverse coalition that consists of leading organizations working to provide creative and sustainable solutions for universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation.
Our Mission is to generate a global movement to meet the urgent need for safe water and sanitation by spurring collective awareness and investment in innovation by corporate, public, and nongovernmental actors.
This GWC offers a model of partnership among leading business, NGO and government organizations to much more effectively deliver clean water and sanitation and hygiene education projects, build new partnerships, share best practices and raise global visibility and support. Delivering these services more efficiently and widely can not only save thousands of lives a week, but is also the essential first step in any community's path out of poverty and disease toward more opportunity.
Without safe, affordable and sustainable supplies of drinking water and improved sanitation and hygiene, progress toward other development goals (including improved healthcare, poverty reduction, increased elementary school attendance rates and environmental remediation) will be far more difficult to achieve and sustain. Fortunately, the answers to this problem exist today and simply require our immediate attention and support.
As a partnership, we:
- Develop drinking water and sanitation projects in areas of priority need in an effort to substantially reduce the number of people who have no access to these basic services;
- Bring new partners together to leverage their resources and expertise to solve drinking water and sanitation challenges;
- Provide project monitoring, evaluation and fiduciary oversight; and,
- Widely and visibly share best practices to speed the deployment of new drinking water and sanitation projects and to drive progress toward more sustainable project outcomes.
GWC focuses on the following:
- Connecting — GWC offers a forum for collaboration and funding among donors, water and sanitation organizations and communities. Our network includes local and international NGO partners, government offi cials, and community stakeholders. GWC offers a coordinated and easily replicable approach to tackling water and sanitation challenges;
- Program Funding — GWC will develop projects in partnership with local NGOs, governments, communities, and foundations. Our efforts will focus on water, sanitation, and hygiene for schools, and innovative community financing and market-based approaches. We will endeavor to connect and listen to local people through this process;
- Learning — Historically, the careful study and documentation of water and sanitation projects has been hindered by lack of time and resources. GWC evaluates effective models for the delivery of clean water, sanitation and hygiene education. It shares this information to accelerate the use of these best practices. GWC will also ensure that projects are monitored over time to track their long-term sustainability;
- Raising Awareness — One of the main goals of GWC is to raise public and corporate consciousness of issues concerning water and sanitation availability and use. Sustainability of interventions is contingent upon ownership among communities and governments. GWC believes that an important part of finding solutions is raising awareness about the issue so that ideas, opinions, thoughts, and concerns can be shared by the international community;
- Influencing Public Policy — To create change, governments and people must be involved and interested. GWC is committed to meeting the Millennium Development Goals, not only through our programs, but by working with local governments and communities to ensure that funding for water and sanitation projects will be suffi cient to reach the goal of universal access to clean water and safe sanitation.
FAQs
How is the GWC different from other global water and sanitation efforts?
- The strength of GWC comes from the diversity of its 22 members. GWC is able to offer a forum to coordinate efforts and leverage resources to create a movement.
- Monitoring and evaluation will be central components of all GWC-funded projects to ensure long-term sustainability and that best practices are documented and replicated. GWC will facilitate the evaluation of diverse projects with common set metrics and develop a knowledge database on water and sanitation issues to accelerate water and sanitation interventions and help ensure sustainable project outcomes.
- A strong focus on raising public awareness
- No administrative fee for donations maximizing the number of donor dollars that reach on-the-ground projects.
Who is funding the Global Water Challenge?
Private sector companies, foundations, and select individuals are providing funding for the GWC. As a result, every dollar pledged to the GWC will go to aid organizations for sustainable projects on the ground.Who runs the day-to-day operations of the Global Water Challenge?
A secretariat has been established in Washington D.C. to provide oversight and leadership for the GWC.How will projects be selected for funding by the Global Water Challenge?
The Board of Directors, with the help of the secretariat will develop project selection criteria and review proposals.Who will implement projects for the Global Water Challenge?
Projects will be developed in partnership with established water and sanitation aid organizations that can bring proven, effective approaches for the communities to be served. For example, in Kenya, the GWC will work with CARE Kenya, Center for Global Safe Water, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Millennium Water Alliance, WaterPartners International, and other groups to bring water and sanitation to 500 schools in 2006.How can my organization get involved?
Opportunities for involvement include:- Provide financial or in-kind support of the Global Water Challenge;
- Sponsor GWC programs;
- Provide information about other related projects for the GWC database; and,
- Promote the GWC through your organization's products, advertising, employee motivation and cause marketing programs.