Community water security - UN-Water

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) represent the world’s agreed targets for addressing poverty
in its many dimensions. Lack of access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation is one such dimension
affecting billions of people around the world. The MDGs will only be achieved by actions on the ground.
Knowledge dissemination among poor communities is the way forward. Water and sanitation targets can be
achieved through empowering individuals, households and communities to take charge of their development
needs.
Following on the success of Where There Is No Doctor, the Hesperian Foundation attains another milestone
with the publication of Water for Life: Community Water Security. This new publication clearly points the way
toward achievement of the MDGs. It complements a previous publication, Sanitation and Cleanliness for a
Healthy Environment by directly addressing the actions needed at the community level to ensure access to
safe drinking water.
This booklet provides practical guidance on the most important “how to” questions dealing with access to
water. It highlights, among other issues, what can be done to make water safe for drinking and cooking, and
how to protect groundwater resources, collect rainwater, and store water safely.
Water for Life: Community Water Security is one of the key knowledge products of UNDP’s Community
Water Initiative, launched with support from the Swedish Government (through the Swedish International
Development Cooperation Agency, SIDA), enabling communities to live healthier lives through improvements
in their access to water supply and sanitation.
— Carlos Linares, Senior Water Policy Advisor, UNDP
UNDP is the UN’s global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to
knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 166
countries, working with them on their own solutions to global and national development challenges. As
they develop local capacity, they draw on the people of UNDP and our wide range of partners.
For more information please contact:
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Bureau for Development Policy,
Energy and Environment Group, 304 East 45th Street, New York, NY 10017, USA.
www.undp.org-water fax: (1-212) 906-6973
Hesperian Foundation
Copyright © 2005 by the Hesperian Foundation
The Hesperian Foundation encourages others to copy, reproduce, or adapt to meet local needs any or all of
this pamphlet provided that what is reproduced is distributed free or at cost — not for profit. Please contact
the Hesperian Foundation before beginning any reproduction, adaptation, or translation to avoid duplication
of efforts and to make sure you are working with the most recent, updated version of these materials.