Global citizens take action in support of the Water for the World Act

WHAT'S THE COMMITMENT?

There are 2.2 billion people currently living without access to a toilet, 1.28 billion of whom are women and girls. I think you’ll agree that that’s unacceptable. The Senator Paul Simon Water for the World Act of 2013 would allow the United States Government to more efficiently increase access to water, sanitation, and hygiene. The bill places a focus on increased transparency and monitoring and evaluation that can help ensure that mistakes aren’t repeated and successes become greater.

The Water for the World Act already has 96 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives and the bill is gaining momentum quickly.

HOW DID GLOBAL CITIZENS RESPOND?

Since global citizens are all too aware that poor sanitation leads to thousands of child deaths every day, we created a petition calling on US leaders to support the Water for the World Act. So far, global citizens have taken over 35,000 actions by signing this petition to increase access to water and sanitation.

WHAT'S THE IMPACT?

On August 11, joined by our partners at WaterAid America, WASH Advocates, and Millennium Water Alliance, the Global Poverty Project team went to Capitol Hill to meet with the offices of 16 key Members of Congress to rally their support for the Water for the World Act. Together, we handed over the petition signed by global citizens and rolls of toilet paper with statistics about the importance of access to water.

Here are a few photos from our meetings!

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

It is super important that global citizens keep up the momentum to ensure that the Water for the World Act passes this year! The Global Poverty Project team will continue meeting with our leaders and in September, we’re developing a short film to highlight the support we have seen for Water for the World Act from members across the country.

We’ll keep you updated throughout the summer on big milestones in our campaigning on water and sanitation.