Our Expertise and Services: Water

Why water and sanitation matter

Access to water and sanitation is a human right. The UN Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development recognizes water as key to sustainable development. Access to safe water, basic sanitation, and good hygiene practices means opportunity for improved education, health, and economic development. Improving water resources management is key to climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, sustainable agriculture, and preventing conflicts.

What we do

Helvetas, together with its local partners, strengthens local governments in making water supply, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services available for all. We help create spaces where local governments, civil society, and the private sector coordinate their actions to improve services for the most disadvantaged people - and to do so in an effective and accountable way.

We analyze and seek to understand key behavior change determinants such as social norms. Our interventions to improve water quality, handwashing and latrine use build on this understanding.

We join hands with our sustainable agriculture and climate change colleagues to find water security solutions. Systematic stakeholder dialogues help us contribute to a fair and equitable distribution of water resources.

We strengthen the capacity of key local actors in developing national strategies, improving governance, and creating innovations.

What we offer

• 50 years of experience in the water sector
• Expertise in strengthening local governance to improve WASH service delivery to the most disadvantaged in rural and urban areas
• Sustainability assessments of WASH services
• Advice on designing behavior change interventions that effectively improve water quality, handwashing and latrine use
• Support in developing sanitation interventions in rural and in semi-urban areas, and in designing household water treatment and safe storage, incl. supply chains for water treatment products
• Implementation of approaches that contribute to water security such as the water use master plan, water buffering (recharge, retention and reuse) and water stewardship
• Support in institution building including strengthening monitoring and evaluation systems and in advocacy and policy development
• Geographical coverage: Helvetas’ technical advisors, based in Switzerland and abroad, work in Africa, Asia and Latin America

Our quarterly newsletter “Highlights"

For development practitioners and anyone interested in our projects and approaches.

Further information

Download and read our publications on different water related topics.

Partnerships, alliances and networks

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