Water Supply & Sanitation Collaborative Council www.wsscc.org
The Water Supply & Sanitation Collaborative Council was created in 1990, in line with a UN General Assembly resolution, to continue the work of the International Drinking Water Decade (1981-1990). Its mission is to achieve sustainable water supply and sanitation for all people. Because the number of people without sanitation is much greater than the number without water, while the agencies working in sanitation are fewer, WSSCC dedicates most of its effort to sanitation and hygiene.
To achieve its mission, the Collaborative Council divides its activities into three programme areas: Networking and Knowledge Management, Advocacy and Communications, and the Global Sanitation Fund. WSSCC provides a neutral space in which individuals and organizations concerned with water, sanitation and hygiene for poor people can network and share ideas, while National WASH Coalitions in 36 countries support national-level activities. In 2001 WSSCC launched its global WASH (Water, Sanitation, Hygiene) campaign which contributed to the inclusion of sanitation as a MDG target. The Global Sanitation Fund is a financial mechanism designed to help large numbers of poor people to get access to safe and sustainable sanitation services and adopt good hygiene practices.
