Ethiopian communities take the lead in ending open defecation
A community-led approach to ending open defecation in Shebedino Wereda, Ethiopia, has seen sanitation figures soar.
Water and sanitation
There is a global crisis in water and sanitation, with diarrhoea killing at least 1,200,000 under-5s each year.
Plan works with communities to improve access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation and to raise awareness of the importance of hand washing and waste management.
In 2011, Plan supported 122,927 households in 49 countries to improve their sanitation facilities, and helped communities to build or refurbish 5,804 water points.
Education key
Billions of people lack access to basic sanitation and are forced to defecate out in the open, contaminating food and water supplies.
We educate communities about the importance of sanitation and encourage them to strive for a total ban on open defecation.
Communities take the lead
Plan supports communities to take the lead in improving their own sanitation, promoting the rights of women, girls and marginalised groups and spreading the message about hygiene.
We work alongside government, communities and local groups to ensure that initiatives are sustainable in the long term.
Read Plan publications on water and sanitation
Case studies
Solar powered pumps improve lives in Tanzania
Plan has installed a new solar powered water system in Ifakara, Tanzania - helping to make long queues for water a thing of the past.
Bangladeshi children demand total sanitation
Children in Dinajpur, Bangladesh, have been taking direct action to protect their health ever since Plan introduced Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) to over 200 villages in the district in 2004.
