On August 1, the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations held a hearing, “The Impact of U.S. Water Programs on Global Health.” The hearing examined the importance of clean water to global health and development and detailed the efforts underway to provide access to it.
“Women in much of the developing world are responsible for finding and providing water for domestic use, including water for cooking and drinking, as well as for crops and animals,” saidChristian Holmes, global water coordinator, United States Agency for International Development (USAID). He continued, “Particularly in rural areas, improving access to safe water – and thereby reducing the time women and girls spend on water collection and transport – can lead to more time for productive uses, such as increased girls’ attendance at school and women’s involvement in income generating and community activities.”
Mr. Holmes added, “Adequate sanitation is paramount, such as private, clean, and sex-segregated facilities, especially for ensuring that girls remain in school. An example of USAID’s efforts to meet the water needs of women in the developing world is the School Environment and Education Development for Somalia (SEEDS). In Somalia, only 37 percent of the student population is female, and cultural norms require absolute privacy for girls when using the latrines. USAID worked to maintain a healthy environment within schools by improving WASH [water supply, sanitation, and hygiene] facilities, especially ensuring the separation of latrines for boys and girls. Rehabilitation and construction of latrines and hand-washing stations under SEEDS has led to an increase of 32,337 new students, of whom 12,666 are girls, and access for 3,686 female students to improved WASH facilities and practices in FY2011 alone.”
The following witnesses also testified:
