World Environment Day is an important reminder of environmental sustainability (Millennium Development Goal 7). MDG7 includes halving the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015.
Australian and other non-government organisations (NGOs) have a strong track record in promoting better hygiene and health. Australia is providing more than $31 million to support NGOs in developing countries to provide toilets and clean water, and promote handwashing with soap.
The Civil Society Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Fund will support 11 NGOs to deliver 44 projects across Sub-Saharan Africa, South and Southeast Asia and the Pacific. These projects were selected following a very competitive application process and will benefit more than a million poor and vulnerable people.
For example, Live & Learn Environmental Education has been awarded $1.5 million to run rural sanitation and hygiene programs in the Western Pacific. This work will educate and encourage people to use good sanitation and hygiene practices which are important to improving peoples' health–and in particular controlling diarrhoea.
Improving hygiene behaviour and access to clean water and sanitation services is crucial to raising the health and living standards of people living in developing countries.
Media release
Improving access to water and sanitation on World Environment Day