Water For People has focused on three critical areas of global need since our inception: water, sanitation and hygiene.

As the impact of COVID-19 continues to increase around the world, hygiene is quickly becoming a priority.

Consequently, these are the operational activities we are prioritizing:

1. We are accelerating our efforts to complete construction of water systems that will serve hundreds of health care centers and other public facilities in nine countries. We do this work while continuing to teach about the importance of handwashing in homes, schools and clinics.
2. Strengthen our capacities to strengthen public health systems with government ministries. This is critical for two reasons:
   • Sustainability: As the current health crisis grows, local governments need the skills to change human behavior and stop the spread of the virus. A particular need is for long-term improvements in personal hygiene practices in homes and healthcare facilities.
   • Resilience- Faster response times mean more lives will be saved in times of crisis. Helping and enabling government agencies to respond faster prevents chaos, misinformation, and unnecessary loss of life. This creates community resilience and preparedness for the next public health crisis.
3. Support aid agencies that are funding new emergency infrastructure, such as hospitals and health centres. Our role is to ensure that good handwashing and hygiene practices, along with appropriate facilities, are included in work settings so that disease transmission is interrupted.
4. Keeping our teams in place as best we can during the COVID-19 crisis. This is so that when the situation improves in each country, we are ready to help families, communities and governments in the recovery process.