WaterAid was set up in 1981 by a group of people from the UK water industry, in response to the 1981-1991 UN Decade of Drinking Water & Sanitation initiative. The organisation has gone on to become one of the world’s most respected international NGOs dealing solely with water, sanitation and hygiene issues, and every year helps over a million people a year in Africa and Asia.

Unsafe drinking water is quite literally a matter of life and death. The U.S. alone spends $16 billion annually on bottled mineral water, while 5,000 children die every day from diseases related to dirty, tainted and ultimately unsafe drinking water. This staggering statistic translates to 1.8 million entirely preventable deaths every year.

“Here in the western world we are privileged to have access to a constant supply of safe, clean water, but we need to expand people’s understanding that water is a precious resource which over one billion people don’t have access to,” Barbara argues. “Wherever possible we would encourage people to drink tap water, providing it is safe and clean, and make a donation to WaterAid for the money saved on bottled water. This way, more and more people will gain access to safe, clean water.”

The organisation works in 17 countries across Africa, Asia and the Pacific, developing ways to educate local communities in the importance of sanitation. One such initiative in Madagascar – described by Barbara as a “flagging scheme” – involves local children going round their village marking any faeces they find with a flag and the offender’s name. “It soon stops the practice of open defecation!” Barbara explains.

Much of WaterAid’s focus is at the grassroots level, but the NGO also works hard to influence national and international policy on the issue.

“Global policy change must respond to local voices,” says Barbara. “Communities can use their real life experiences to influence policy. WaterAid seeks to ensure that water and sanitation policy debates, whether at the UN, the World Bank or at a local municipality, are informed by, and accountable to the practical reality of what is needed and what works for people on the ground.”

And it’s this link, between what works for the local community and an understanding of the issues at the national and supranational levels, that Barbara believes will help lead to a solution in the global water crisis.

“Bringing about an understanding of how water can be managed and the complexity of the environments in which people live is critical if we are to seriously address the global water crisis,” she explains. “But this is a two-way process. For local change to happen, an understanding of the global water policy agenda is needed. WaterAid seeks to share key information with our partners working at the local level, making the global water agenda accessible to all and enabling civil society to monitor and analyse national progress against international commitments and best practice. With the help of our partner organisations we will help at least one million people gain access to water and one million people gain access to sanitation every year, ensuring the longevity of these services and a better future for the communities involved.”

For more on WaterAid, click here.