Water and sanitation

• Worldwide, more than one billion people do not have clean, safe water*
• Each year, two million people, most of them children under five, die from diarrhoea**

How we respond

In any emergency, lives are put at risk by inadequate water supplies and poor sanitation. Oxfam’s water engineers are known internationally for the speed and efficiency with which they can help provide large-scale water supplies, and essential sanitation facilities, even in the most difficult circumstances.

Oxfam in action: Providing clean water in Pakistan (video)

In chronic emergencies which unfold over a longer period of time, there is more scope to develop solutions that are more cost-effective and appropriate to local conditions

Oxfam public health teams also work alongside our water engineers to ensure water and sanitation facilities are used properly, and so prevent the spread of disease.

Maintaining standards

We aim to provide each person that we support in an emergency situation with at least 15 litres of clean water per day for drinking, cooking, and washing. This is one of a number of internationally recognised minimum standards set by the Sphere Humanitarian Charter which we helped to create. It sets out what people, affected by disasters, have a right to expect from organisations providing humanitarian assistance.

Other things we do in emergencies

Health promotion
Food security and nutrition
Protection
Gender equality
Disaster risk reduction

* Source: World Health Organisation 2004
** Source: UNICEF