United Nations Geneva
IWHA supports the World Health Organization’s (WHO) efforts to reduce diarrhoeal disease through the establishment of an international network comprised of UN agencies, bilateral development agencies, international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), research institutions, international professional associations, the private sector and industry associations.
It is agreed among these representatives of diverse institutions that a network will optimize efforts to promote household-level water management, with the aim of contributing to a significant reduction in waterborne disease.
To this end, participants established the International Network to Promote Household Water Treatment and Safe Storage (the “Network”).
The Network was organized to promote household water treatment and safe storage and to provide an effective means to address an important and overlooked mechanism to support substantive health gains, benefiting especially disadvantaged populations. In doing so, it seeks to contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) target of halving the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water and to the MDG of reducing child mortality.
The Network’s response to the global crisis related to the need to improve access to safe water is a collaborative effort to promote household water treatment and safe storage.
Participants in the Network including IWHA are commited to to working toward making a significant reduction in waterborne disease, especially among vulnerable populations, by promoting household water treatment and safe storage as a key component of water, sanitation and hygiene programmes.
Efforts to accomplish this mission are through advocacy, communication, research and implementation.