Our Motives
Access to clean drinking water and basic sanitation is a human right, as decided by the UN in 2010.
Nevertheless, millions of people in developing countries still do not have clean drinking water or toilets. This often leads to diarrhoea and other serious illnesses such as cholera, especially among children and the elderly.
The UN World Water Report of March 2020 shows the following figures:
- 2.2 billion people have no access to clean drinking water!
- 4.2 billion people have no clean toilets! That is more than 55% of the world population!
People in Africa are particularly affected by this.
Examples of the situation in many developing countries:
The water that the villagers fetch from the lake is contaminated with bilharzia and is far from drinking water quality.
These women and children have to walk several times a day to the well, fetch water and carry it to their hut.
The people do not have toilets in widespread use. The water from the water point is of insufficient quality. Washing hands is a luxury.
For these people, the only way to wash their clothes is a stream. To dry them, the clothes are hung over bushes or spread out on the ground.
This toilet facility had a short life. It can no longer be used because the quality of construction was completely inadequate. The two buildings are on the verge of collapse.
In this village toilet, the boulder above the hole in the floor must be pushed away before use. The wooden planks on the floor serve as floor covering in rainy weather. The yellow container replaces the water flush.
The 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),
In order for these 17 goals of the UN to be achieved by 2030, even to a certain extent, great efforts are still needed.
Our contribution to improvement
WatSanAid plans and builds drinking water and toilet facilities on a non-profit basis at selected locations in developing countries.
The following standards are aimed at:
- The drinking water is to be obtained and treated by means of suitable processes so that it meets the requirements of the WHO.
- Water extraction, drinking water treatment, piping system and water delivery points should be of good quality to ensure that the plant will function trouble-free for many years to come.
- The toilets should be easy to maintain, have hand washing facilities, make a neat impression and be cleaned regularly. The maintenance of the facility must be organised and guaranteed.
- The hygiene behaviour of the population must be trained.
Transfer of specialist knowledge as an additional benefit
During the planning, construction and operation of WatSanAid projects, a transfer of expertise and quality awareness to the commissioned contractor and the population should be achieved wherever possible.
Would you like to participate in this activity or support us?
We will be happy to provide you with information about current projects in which you can participate. Please get in touch with us.
In case you would like to support our projects financially, we will give you our bank details here:
Zürcher Kantonalbank, P.O. Box, CH 8010 Zurich
CHF account 1148-2986.066
IBAN CH81 0070 0114 8029 8606 6
EUR account 1300-9183-01 9
IBAN CH70 0070 0130 0091 8301 9