Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council
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The Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) was a
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
-hosted organization contributing to Sustainable Development Goal 6, Target 6.2 on
sanitation Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation syste ...
and
hygiene Hygiene is a series of practices performed to preserve health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "Hygiene refers to conditions and practices that help to maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases." Personal hygiene refer ...
.WSSCC (2018
Annual Report of WSSCC
Geneva, Switzerland
It was established in 1990 and closed at the end of 2020. WSSCC advocated for improved
sanitation Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation syste ...
and
hygiene Hygiene is a series of practices performed to preserve health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "Hygiene refers to conditions and practices that help to maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases." Personal hygiene refer ...
, with a focus on the needs of women, girls and people in vulnerable situations. WSSCC's main areas of focus were large-scale sanitation and hygiene behaviour change programmes through the Global Sanitation Fund.


Background

WSSCC worked to address the
sanitation Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation syste ...
crisis and promote universal access to sanitation in collaboration with a range of partners. The
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
estimates that some 2.2 billion people lack basic sanitation services and 3 billion people lack access to basic
handwashing Hand washing (or handwashing), also known as hand hygiene, is the act of cleaning one's hands with soap or handwash and water to remove viruses/ bacteria/microorganisms, dirt, grease, or other harmful and unwanted substances stuck to the hand ...
facilities at home. Poor sanitation costs countries approximately $229 billion annually (in 2015). WSSCC contributed to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6, Target 6.2: "''By 2030, achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations."''


Activities

WSSCC collaborated with government agencies, non-governmental organizations, international organizations,
civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.World Water Day World Water Day is an annual United Nations (UN) observance day held on 22 March that highlights the importance of fresh water. The day is used to advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. The theme of each year focuses o ...
, Menstrual Hygiene Day,
World Toilet Day World Toilet Day (WTD) is an official United Nations international observance day on 19 November to inspire action to tackle the global sanitation crisis. Worldwide, 4.2 billion people live without "safely managed sanitation" and around 67 ...
and
Global Handwashing Day Global Hand washing Day (GHD) is an international hand washing promotion campaign to motivate and mobilise people around the world to improve their hand washing habits. Washing hands at critical points both during the day and washing with soap ...
.


Global Sanitation Fund

Through the Global Sanitation Fund (GSF), a multi-donor United Nations trust fund, WSSCC supported national efforts to help rural communities improve their sanitation and adopt good hygiene practices. The GSF funded behaviour change activities.
Community-led total sanitation Community-led total sanitation (CLTS) is an approach used mainly in developing countries to improve sanitation and hygiene practices in a community. The approach tries to achieve behavior change in mainly rural people by a process of "triggerin ...
was frequently utilized by GSF-funded national programmes, such as in Cambodia and Nigeria. The GSF funded national programmes in
Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...
,
Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand ...
,
Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
,
Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...
,
Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Afric ...
,
Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northe ...
,
Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
,
Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
,
Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
,
Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
,
Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...
and
Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...
. WSSCC's Secretariat gathered funds and donations at the global level, selected the eligible countries for funding, and managed the disbursement of grants to national sanitation programmes. In the period of 2008 to 2018, the Global Sanitation Fund allocated over US$119 to sanitation projects in
developing countries A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...
. The Global Sanitation Fund was a multi-donor
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
trust fund A trust is a legal relationship in which the holder of a right gives it to another person or entity who must keep and use it solely for another's benefit. In the Anglo-American common law, the party who entrusts the right is known as the "settl ...
that aims to help large numbers of people in
developing countries A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...
improve their
sanitation Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation syste ...
and adopt good
hygiene Hygiene is a series of practices performed to preserve health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "Hygiene refers to conditions and practices that help to maintain health and prevent the spread of diseases." Personal hygiene refer ...
practices. GSF was positioned as an innovative way to finance
sustainable development Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The des ...
.


Scope

Currently, 2 billion people lack access to basic sanitation services, and 673 million
defecate Defecation (or defaecation) follows digestion, and is a necessary process by which organisms eliminate a solid, semisolid, or liquid waste material known as feces from the digestive tract via the anus. The act has a variety of names ranging fro ...
in the open. Diarrheal disease, a preventable disease largely caused by poor sanitation and hygiene, is a leading cause of child malnutrition and mortality, claiming around 525,000 lives of children under 5 every year. The GSF, along with a diverse range of sector actors, was aimed at helping address the sanitation and hygiene crisis by enabling tens of millions of people to live in open defecation free (ODF) environments and access adequate
toilet A toilet is a piece of sanitary hardware that collects human urine and feces, and sometimes toilet paper, usually for disposal. Flush toilets use water, while dry or non-flush toilets do not. They can be designed for a sitting position popu ...
s and
handwashing Hand washing (or handwashing), also known as hand hygiene, is the act of cleaning one's hands with soap or handwash and water to remove viruses/ bacteria/microorganisms, dirt, grease, or other harmful and unwanted substances stuck to the hand ...
facilities. These activities were also aimed at supporting the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal Number 6. The United Nations system has identified global funding for sanitation and hygiene as key to enabling member countries to achieve their national development targets. The GSF funded behaviour change activities to help large numbers of poor people in hard to reach areas attain safe sanitation and adopt good hygiene practices. These activities can be described as having been community-based, supporting national efforts, and bringing together a diverse group of stakeholders. The GSF worked with a range of prominent entities in the water, sanitation and hygiene sectors including the
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
, Water Aid, UN-Water,
UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...
, the
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
,
Global Poverty Project Global Citizen, also known as Global Poverty Project, is an international education and advocacy organization working to catalyze the movement to end extreme poverty and promote social justice and equity through the lens of intersectionality. The ...
and the CLTS Foundation.
Community-led total sanitation Community-led total sanitation (CLTS) is an approach used mainly in developing countries to improve sanitation and hygiene practices in a community. The approach tries to achieve behavior change in mainly rural people by a process of "triggerin ...
was frequently utilized by GSF-funded national programmes, such as in Cambodia and Nigeria. The GSF previously funded, national programmes in
Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...
,
Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand ...
,
Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...
,
Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Afric ...
,
Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northe ...
,
Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
,
Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
,
Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
,
Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
,
Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...
and
Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...
. Results as of closing were: 18.1 million people with access to improved sanitation facilities; 24.4 million people living in open defecation free environments; and 23.8 million people with access to basic handwashing facilities on premises. Governments in the following countries, mainly through the development assistance programmes, have contributed to the now closed GSF. They are: *
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
*
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
*
The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
*
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
*
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
*
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
*
The United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
The GSF was established by WSSCC to boost financing to countries with high needs for improved sanitation. It was first established in 2007, in response to the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
Human Development Report The Human Development Report (HDR) is an annual Human Development Index report published by the Human Development Report Office of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The first HDR was launched in 1990 by the Pakistani economist ...
for 2006, which raised the issue of the global sanitation crisis.


Menstrual hygiene management

A key challenge that WSSCC focused on relates to the inclusion of menstrual hygiene management in the sustainable development agenda. WSSCC highlighted that the
taboo A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...
surrounding
menstruation Menstruation (also known as a period, among other colloquial terms) is the regular discharge of blood and mucosal tissue from the inner lining of the uterus through the vagina. The menstrual cycle is characterized by the rise and fall of hor ...
is a barrier to equal participation and opportunities for women. A
National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...
article highlighted that many policy makers often admit that they had never considered questions around menstruation before.


Equality and non-discrimination

WSSCC advocated for equality,
human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
and non-discrimination as central to ensuring access to safe water supply, adequate sanitation and good hygiene for all. In particular, WSSCC
WASH WASH (or Watsan, WaSH) is an acronym that stands for "water, sanitation and hygiene". It is used widely by non-governmental organizations and aid agencies in developing countries. The purposes of providing access to WASH services include achievin ...
advocated to promote women's participation and leadership and menstrual hygiene and health.


Other focus areas

Other focus areas of the WSSCC included sustaining behaviour change as well as ensuring reliable and consistent monitoring, particularly of households that return to previously abandoned unhygienic behaviours. WSSCC worked on these issues through systems strengthening and
impact evaluation Impact evaluation assesses the changes that can be attributed to a particular intervention, such as a project, program or policy, both the intended ones, as well as ideally the unintended ones. In contrast to outcome monitoring, which examines whe ...
s.


Reports and campaigns

Notable reports and campaigns supported by WSSCC included: * 'We Can't Wait', a report in 2015 on sanitation and hygiene for women and girls produced in collaboration with WaterAid and
Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy drink, t ...
* The Global Water Supply and Sanitation Assessment report produced in collaboration with the WHO and UNICEF in 2015 * The United Nations 'End Open Defecation' campaign in 2015 * The Women for Water and Sanitation Declaration, sanctioned by the first ladies of Madagascar and Malawi, among others in 2015


Organizational structure

WSSCC was administratively and legally hosted by the
United Nations Office for Project Services The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) is a United Nations agency dedicated to implementing infrastructure and procurement projects for the United Nations System, international financial institutions, governments and other partne ...
(UNOPS) since 2009. WSSCC's Secretariat was governed by its Steering Committee. WSSCC's secretariat was headquartered in
Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
,
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. WSSCC was an unincorporated membership organization and not a separate legal entity. WSSCC's Steering Committee decided the policies and strategies of the organization, managed the governance process, and was accountable to both the membership and the donors for its work. It was made up of a chair, regional members, partner agency members, ex officio members, non-voting invitees, and permanent non-voting observers. All WSSCC members were eligible to stand and vote in elections for the Steering Committee. WSSCC was the only UN body devoted solely to sanitation and hygiene. WSSCC had members in 150 countries. The "WSSCC community" included staff based in Geneva, volunteer National Coordinators, Global Sanitation Fund programme managers, a democratically elected Steering Committee and bi-lateral donor partners. The "national coordinators" worked through WASH Coalitions in 16 countries to lead WSSCC's work. They served as coalition heads, spokespersons, and advocates for sanitation, hygiene and water supply issues.


Steering Committee chair

WSSCC closed end of 2020. The last chair was Hind Khatib-Othman.


Funding

WSSCC received funding from several European governments as well as Australia. In 2016-2018 the donors to WSSCC's budget were the Governments of the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. In previous years, donors also included Australia, Finland, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.WSSCC (2016
Annual Report for 2016
Geneva, Switzerland
WSSCC (2015
Annual Report for 2015
Geneva, Switzerland


Finances

The expenditure in 2018 totaled US$18.2 million representing a 72% delivery rate against a budget of US$21.1 million.


Partnerships

Key collaborating partners with WSSCC included WaterAid, the
Sustainable Sanitation Alliance The Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA) is a loose network of organizations who are "working along the same lines towards achieving sustainable sanitation". It began its work in 2007, one year before the United Nations International Year o ...
(SuSanA) and
UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...
, among others. In 2020, WSSCC announced a stronger collaboration with SuSanA by merging their Community of Practice group into the SuSanA Discussion Forum. WSSCC hosted the communications team of
Sanitation and Water for all The Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) is a global partnership committed to achieving universal access to clean drinking water and adequate sanitation. In 2015, 2.4 billion people lacked access to improved sanitation, 946 million people defecat ...
(SWA) until the end of 2019 (from 2020 onwards, it is being hosted by
UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...
). WSSCC partnered with: * Global Citizen *Global Water Partnership (GWP)


History

In 1990, a group of senior staff of developing country governments,
bilateral Bilateral may refer to any concept including two sides, in particular: * Bilateria, bilateral animals *Bilateralism, the political and cultural relations between two states *Bilateral, occurring on both sides of an organism ( Anatomical terms of ...
and multilateral agencies,
NGOs A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
and research institutions founded WSSCC. On December 21, 1990, the 45th Session of the UN General Assembly elected to pass resolution A/RES/45/181, which emphasized the “importance of intensifying the coordination of national activities undertaken with the assistance of all relevant agencies in the field of water supply and sanitation through, in particular, the inter-agency Steering Committee for Co-operative Action for the International Drinking Water Decade and the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council”. Through this resolution the WSSCC was formally established as an independent organization with a United Nations mandate. During the 1990s, WSSCC concentrated on sharing knowledge and convening thematic discussion groups on water- and sanitation-related topics. In 2000, WSSCC published Vision 21, a proposal for achieving universal water, sanitation and hygiene coverage. From 1991 to 2009, it was hosted by the
World Health Organization (WHO) The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
. After 2009, WSSCC was hosted by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). After 2000, WSSCC expanded its work to include
advocacy Advocacy is an Action (philosophy), activity by an individual or advocacy group, group that aims to influence decision making, decisions within political, economic, and social institutions. Advocacy includes activities and publications to infl ...
and communications, and began to use the term "
WASH WASH (or Watsan, WaSH) is an acronym that stands for "water, sanitation and hygiene". It is used widely by non-governmental organizations and aid agencies in developing countries. The purposes of providing access to WASH services include achievin ...
" as an umbrella term for water, sanitation and hygiene from about 2001 onwards''.'' WSSCC's members and staff lobbied for a
Millennium Development Goal The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were eight international development goals for the year 2015 that had been established following the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in 2000, following the adoption of the United Nations Millenniu ...
target for sanitation, which was adopted at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Since 2007, WSSCC focused on sanitation and hygiene, adding a dedicated sanitation grant financing mechanism (the Global Sanitation Fund) in addition to its networking, knowledge and advocacy work. Previous chairs of the steering committee include: Interim chairs Brad Herbert and Ebele Okeke in 2017–2018,
Amina J. Mohammed Amina Jane Mohammed (born 27 June 1961) is a Nigerian-British diplomat and politician who is serving as the fifth Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations. Previously, she was Nigerian Minister of Environment from 2015 to 2016 and was ...
, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and former Minister of Environment of Nigeria in 2016, Andrew Cotton in 2014 to 2015, Anna Tibaijuka in 2011 to 2013; Roberto Lenton in 2005 to 2010, Sir Richard Jolly in 1997 to 2004 and
Margaret Catley-Carlson Margaret Catley-Carlson, (born 6 October 1942) is a Canadian civil servant. She was Chair and is now a Patron of the Global Water Partnership, a working partnership among all those involved in water management formed in 1996 by the World Bank, th ...
in 1990 to 1996. Previous executive directors included Rolf Luyendijk (in 2018), Chris Williams (in 2012 to 2016) and Jon Lane (in 2007 to 2011).


References


External links


Official website
{{Authority control United Nations organizations based in Geneva Sustainability organizations Water supply Hygiene Sanitation Organizations established by the United Nations International sustainability organizations