Fighting poverty
through safe water

Over one billion women and girls live without access to basic sanitation. Lack of sanitation is detrimental not only to women’s health but also to their education, community status, and sense of dignity. With improved sanitation, women experience improved health and well-being.

Most women without access to basic sanitation, such as a hygienic latrine, must wait for nightfall and an empty field in order to defecate in private, a practice which has serious side effects. Waiting so long to defecate leads to increased chances for urinary tract infections, chronic constipation, and psychological stress. Women who go out alone at night are also at risk of physical and sexual assault.¹

Menstruation, pregnancy, and postnatal recovery also become problematic if there are not adequate facilities to properly manage them. Many girls are forced to leave school once they reach puberty simply because there are no facilities or supplies made accessible to them, and those who choose to stay enrolled often miss class during their menstrual cycle, making it harder for them to succeed academically.

Many women are leading efforts in their communities to gain access to adequate sanitation. As women get involved in the technical operations and management of water and sanitation services, they are increasingly seen as skilled workers capable of achieving high levels of training and expertise. Along with increased status, many women find themselves in a position to generate income as either a direct or indirect effect of improved sanitation. The International Water and Sanitation Centre studied 88 water and sanitation projects in 15 countries and found that projects designed to run with the full participation of women are more effective and sustainable than those that are not.²

Women play a vital role in raising awareness about sanitation issues in their communities, and improved water and sanitation sources are the first step to empowering women in developing countries. Lifewater strives to provide entire communities with education on disease transmission, effective latrine construction, and latrine operation and maintenance. Lifewater also works to change social attitudes and behaviors towards proper waste disposal in ways that will improve the lives of many.

¹WHO AND UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation, Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation: Special Focus on Sanitation, UNICEF, New York and WHO, Geneva, 2008.

²Interagency Task Force on Gender and Water, Gender, Water and Sanitation: A Policy Brief. UN Water and Interagency Network on Women and Gender Equality, June 2006.