Harry Walker Agency, Inc.
Tsunami Water and Sanitation Fund
Partnership
to Address Emergency Need for Safe Water and Clean Sanitation
as well as Long-Term Health and Development of Families
The Tsunami Water and Sanitation Fund, a joint project
of the Clinton Foundation and UNICEF, will strengthen UNICEF’s efforts to
prevent the spread of water-borne diseases in tsunami-ravaged areas. The
partnership is a response to and a part of the nationwide fundraising
initiative launched last week by U.S. President George Bush and former
Presidents George H. W. Bush and Clinton in support
of relief and reconstruction activities in areas devastated by the tsunami.
“I applaud President Clinton for this
extraordinary philanthropic leadership,” Bellamy said Monday, launching the
fund at a press conference at UNICEF House in
With water supply systems contaminated and in many
cases destroyed by the flood waters of the tsunami, millions of people lack
safe water and are at risk of potentially deadly water-borne diseases like
cholera and diarrhea, Bellamy said. Children, who make up at least one-third of
the overall population in the worst-affected countries, are particularly
vulnerable to water-borne diseases.
“We have identified the provision of clean water and
adequate sanitation as both an urgent and long-term need in many of the places
struck by the tsunami. Clean water is, of course, the source of all life;
without it, people cannot survive. And sanitation is essential if we are
to avoid the spread of disease in communities made vulnerable by the damage
caused by the tidal forces that struck them so suddenly just two weeks ago,”
President Clinton said. “I appreciate having this opportunity to expand
the work of my Foundation with UNICEF, which has a great record of response to
humanitarian crises, especially in the provision of care to children.”
People interested in donating to the Tsunami Water and Sanitation Fund
can access it via the Clinton Foundation website, www.clintonfoundation.org,
as well as at www.unicefusa.org.
Donations can also be made by calling toll free 1-866-725-9849.
The fund will enable UNICEF to
continue and expand its provision of safe water, water purification tablets and “household water kits” containing water
containers, soap and buckets for washing to millions of people affected by the
tsunami. It will finance the construction of emergency latrines and the
rehabilitation of urban and rural water supply systems, with a priority for
hospitals, health centers and schools, as well as provide equipment to
construct basic sanitation facilities.
Between $20 and $50 can pay
for the construction of one emergency temporary latrine. Approximately $100
will cover the costs of building a durable family latrine with a five-year life
span for five people. Roughly $1000 will cover the construction costs,
excluding heavy tools, to rehabilitate one hand-dug well that could provide 20
litres of water per day for approximately 200 to 500 people.
Once immediate life-threatening humanitarian needs are met, the Tsunami
Water and Sanitation Fund will help the affected governments with longer-term
management of water supply and sanitation systems, including such things as
well digging and permanent latrine construction, especially in schools and
health centers. The fund will also support hygiene education and promotion in
schools and community groups.
The region affected by the tsunami is home to many of
the world’s poorest children, a significant proportion of who were living
without access to safe water and sanitation even before the waves hit. Many of
them have been left weak and malnourished by repeated bouts of diarrhea and
other water and sanitation-related illnesses.
“Safe water is a key to sustainable development,”
Bellamy said. “Children cannot grow up healthy and strong and communities
cannot thrive without safe water and sanitation.”
The Tsunami Water and
Sanitation Fund will be administered by the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, which will
appropriate donations directly to UNICEF. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF is one of 37
national committees that serve to educate, advocate and fundraise for UNICEF in
industrialized countries.
The Clinton Foundation and UNICEF are also partners in
the global effort to combat HIV/AIDS. In 2004, the Clinton Foundation
HIV/AIDS Initiative joined with UNICEF and the World Bank and the Global Fund
to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in order to make lower cost medicine
and diagnostic tests more available in the developing world.
* * *
More on UNICEF’s tsunami response at www.unicef.org
B-roll of UNICEF’s tsunami relief activities, including in water and
sanitation, are available at www.thenewsmarket.com/unicef
For further information, please contact:
Alfred Ironside, UNICEF
Lisa
Tammy Sun,
For
nearly 60 years UNICEF has been the world’s leader for children, working on the
ground in 158 countries to help children survive and thrive, from early
childhood through adolescence. The world’s largest provider of vaccines
for poor countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, quality basic
education for all boys and girls, access to clean water and sanitation, and the
protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is
funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of governments, businesses,
foundations and individuals. UNICEF has 37 national committees that serve to
educate, advocate and fundraise for UNICEF in industrialized countries
The
Clinton Foundation (www.clintonfoundation.org) works to strengthen the capacity
of people in the