GENEVA, 17 November – The Sanitation and Hygiene Fund will be critical to dramatically scale up investments to reach everyone with sanitation services, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General has said as the new financial mechanism to drive billions of dollars into the sanitation sector was launched today.

Speaking at the launch of the new Sanitation and Hygiene Fund, Ms Amina J. Mohammed described safe sanitation and hygiene as “critical to the response that we want to see, first, because it is about human dignity. Second, it is a health issue.”

The coronavirus pandemic has made clear the fundamental role that sanitation and hygiene play in stopping the spread of disease. But it has also exposed the vast inequities that exist in access to sanitation, hygiene and menstrual health.

The Deputy Secretary-General emphasized that “basic hygiene of washing your hands and being able to have a toilet that is accessible is key [to enabling healthy communities] in the longer term.”

The online launch event was moderated by international broadcaster Ms Zeinab Badawi, and is available on the SHF website and its YouTube channel .

The Sanitation and Hygiene Fund is seeking US$2 billion over the coming five years to support countries in bringing sanitation, hygiene, and menstrual health to all. “We know that money, well utilized, has the ability to drive positive and lasting change,” says Dominic O’Neill, Executive Director of the Sanitation and Hygiene Fund. “This is not only a struggle to improve health; it is a fight for respect and basic human rights and an end to stigma.”

Also participating in the launch programme was Vice President Yemi Osinbajo of Nigeria, who said, “The Sanitation and Hygiene Fund is in many senses a lifesaver. One of the features that I particularly like is that it is tied to measurable performance.” Ms Henrietta Fore, Executive Director of UNICEF, called sanitation and hygiene “a great equalizer for children.”

“During a lockdown, how do you cope with the fact that your household does not have a toilet? This is particularly difficult for girls and women. If everyone had access to sanitation and hygiene in households, in their schools, in their health facilities and communities, it would make an enormous difference in our world,” she said.“ Good sanitation has to be a public good. Governments have to own the fact that sanitation is their problem to solve, and that they have ways to solve it,” Ms Fore added.

Currently, half the world’s population does not have access to safely managed sanitation. 620 million children attend schools that do not have toilets. 1 in 3 schools do not have even basic sanitation and hygiene services, and 1 in 5 healthcare facilities have no sanitation services whatsoever.

The estimated cost of lack of sanitation and hygiene is US$222 billion per year in lost productivity, increased health expenditures, and economic output.Ms Grete Faremo, Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Project Services, which hosts the Sanitation and Hygiene Fund and provides fund management services, added that proper sanitation is at the core of development to any community, family or individual. “UNOPS and its infrastructure work very often see that schooling comes down to proper sanitation facilities.”

However, at current rates of progress, SDG 6.2 – sanitation and hygiene for all – will not be achieved until the 22nd century. This is primarily due to underinvestment over the past several decades. This has had a profound negative impact on health, education and economic outcomes for countries and communities.
Large-scale investments in sanitation and hygiene are needed to reverse this situation and instigate the changes that are needed for widespread and lasting impact.

Welcoming the Sanitation and Hygiene Fund as “an important mechanism to increase and catalyze national investment,” Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab, Deputy Director-General of the World Health Organization, said that investment in sanitation and hygiene is cost-effective. “The economic benefits of sanitation are about five times the cost, and the cost of inaction is far greater.”

“In a world that is experiencing deep social and economic upheaval in the face of COVID-19, the launch of the Sanitation and Hygiene Fund is a hopeful sign. There is an urgent need to do more. This fund will bring much-needed funding for sanitation, hygiene, and menstrual hygiene management,” said Mr Gilbert Houngbo, Chair of UN-Water and President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development.

The online event also included interventions by Ms Petronilla Musonye of Kenya Water for Health Organization and Ms Abenmire Adi, Gender Rights and Sanitation Advocate for Cross River State, Nigeria, speaking on behalf of civil society. The Sanitation and Hygiene Fund provides catalytic funding to countries with the heaviest burden and least ability to respond, focusing on four strategic objectives: expanding household sanitation; ensuring menstrual health and hygiene; providing sanitation and hygiene in schools and health care facilities; and supporting innovative sanitation solutions.

About the Sanitation and Hygiene Fund

The Sanitation and Hygiene Fund is a global financing mechanism to support country-driven programmes to bring sanitation and hygiene to all. It is seeking US$2 billion over the coming five years to provide a 21st-century solution to the decades-old crisis on sanitation, hygiene and menstrual health. Investing in a public-private approach, the fund aims to capitalize on the strengths of its in-country and global partners.

For more information:
Mr Hiroyuki Saito
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
+41 79 684 35 98

Dear all,

most of you probably already know about the Launch of the Sanitation and Hygiene Fund tomorrow, the 17th November at 4pm CET / 10am EST at  www.SHFund.org !
Nevertheless, for the ones who dont know yet, here are the key information of the event:

The Sanitation and Hygiene Fund will be launched during an online event tomorrow. It is seeking US$2 billion over the coming five years to provide a 21st-century solution to the decades-old crisis on sanitation, hygiene and menstrual health.

Currently, more than 4 billion people globally do not have access to safely managed sanitation services. 3 billion lack access to basic handwashing facilities, and nearly 10 percent of the world’s population still practice open defecation.

Many of the world’s most serious diseasesand leading causes of child mortality are related directly to poor sanitation and hygiene. Yet there has been considerable under-investment in this sector for many years, and this has hampered progress on the Sustainable Development
Goals.

Today, the COVID-19 pandemic hasdeepened existing inequalities as masks are too expensive or hard to find, and social distancing is impossible in many of the vulnerable communities. The lack of proper sanitation and hygiene adds to the risks to life and livelihood for
the world’s most disadvantaged, threatening the foundations of economies and health security.

Arguing the case for global investmentin sanitation and hygiene will be Ms Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Other speakers include Vice PresidentYemi Osinbajo of Nigeria; Ms Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director; Ms Grete Faremo, Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Project Services; Mr Gilbert Houngbo, Chair of UN-Water and President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development; Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab, Deputy Director-General of the World Health Organization; and Dominic O’Neill, Executive Director of the Sanitation and Hygiene Fund.

International broadcaster, Ms ZeinabBadawi, moderates the online event, which will begin at 4 p.m. Central Europe Time or 10 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on 17 November. The show will be streamed on the  SHF website  and its  YouTube channel .

By raising and investing the necessary funding, the Sanitation and Hygiene Fund will bring about change and drive this transformation. It will finance programmes that produce large-scale and measurable results and deliver a fundamental social and human right to millions
who have been robbed of their dignity.

The Sanitation and Hygiene Fund will be launched during an online event next Tuesday. It is seeking US$2 billion over the coming five years to provide a 21st-century solution to the decades-old crisis on sanitation, hygiene and menstrual health. 

Currently, more than 4 billion people globally do not have access to safely managed sanitation services. 3 billion lack access to basic handwashing facilities, and nearly 10 percent of the world’s population still practice open defecation. 

Many of the world’s most serious diseases and leading causes of child mortality are related directly to poor sanitation and hygiene. Yet there has been considerable under-investment in this sector for many years, and this has hampered progress on the Sustainable Development Goals. Today, the COVID-19 pandemic has deepened existing inequalities as masks are too expensive or hard to find, and social distancing is impossible in many of the vulnerable communities.

The lack of proper sanitation and hygiene adds to the risks to life and livelihood for the world’s most disadvantaged, threatening the foundations of economies and health security. 

Arguing the case for global investment in sanitation and hygiene will be Ms Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations. 

Other speakers include Vice President Yemi Osinbajo of Nigeria; Ms Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director; Ms Grete Faremo, Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Project Services; Mr Gilbert Houngbo, Chair of UN-Water and President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development; Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab, Deputy Director-General of the World Health Organization; and Dominic O’Neill, Executive Director of the Sanitation and Hygiene Fund. 

International broadcaster, Ms Zeinab Badawi, moderates the online event, which will begin at 4 p.m. Central Europe Time or 10 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on 17 November.

The show will be streamed on the SHF website and its YouTube channel . 

By raising and investing the necessary funding, the Sanitation and Hygiene Fund will bring about change and drive this transformation. It will finance programmes that produce large-scale and measurable results and deliver a fundamental social and human right to millions who have been robbed of their dignity.

For more information and to request an interview, visit www.SHFund.org or contact:  
Hiroyuki Saito, Head of Corporate Communications and Advocacy
Tel: +41 22 552 5212; Mobile: +41 79 684 3598
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.