Diarrhoea, caused by lack of access to safe drinking water, adequate sanitation and hygiene practices, kills 4,000 a day, every day. It is the biggest cause of under-five mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. The absence of these basic services continues not only to risk the lives of women and children, but also has a crucial impact on the quality of their lives, on their levels of poverty, on educational attainment, and on life opportunities. WaterAid, through our direct work and partnership with civil society, government, international organisations, academic institutions and the media, aims to ensure access to improved sanitation, hygiene and safe drinking water for a further 25 million people by 2015.

By influencing the policies and practices of governments and service providers we hope to reach a further 100 million people. WaterAid will: promote and secure poor people's rights and access to safe water, improved hygiene and sanitation; support governments and service providers in developing their capacity to deliver safe water, improved hygiene and sanitation; and advocate for the essential role of safe water, improved hygiene and sanitation in human development.