“Almost half of the developing world’s population – 2.5 billion people – lack improved sanitation facilities, and over 884 million people still use unsafe drinking water sources.” –UNICEF

Like clean air, most of us living in developed countries take the availability of clean water for granted. However, almost half of the developing world’s population – 2.5 billion people – lack improved sanitation facilities, and over 884 million people still use unsafe drinking water sources. (Source: UNICEF) Poor water, sanitation, and hygiene have many serious repercussions. Children- and particularly girls-can’t attend schools because their schools lack private and decent sanitation facilities. Women are forced to spend large parts of their day fetching water, leaving children unattended in homes. And 3.5 million people die each year (three million of whom are children) because of water-borne diseases. (Source: World Water Relief)

Over the past two months, Philanthropedia surveyed 116 experts working in water, sanitation, and hygiene (with an average of 14 years of work experience in the field) to identify those organizations that were making the biggest positive impact in the field.

Philanthropedia’s experts (funders, researchers, nonprofit senior staff, consultants, etc.) identified 15 top nonprofits (out of 106 total reviewed nonprofits) making an impact at the international level. Below is a graphical representation of who participated in our research. You can also see who our experts were by clicking here.

We asked experts to recommend nonprofits that work in the field of water, sanitation, and hygiene, in particular to recommend up to three nonprofits doing high-impact work across multiple countries/regions, and up to three nonprofits doing high-impact work in a specific country/region. These experts were asked to consider a range of nonprofits including those providing direct service, advocacy, litigation, research, education, and other areas.

The following is the list of the top-recommended high-impact nonprofits working in water, sanitation, and hygiene at the international level. “Agree” is the number of experts who agree that the nonprofit has had the most impact in the field. “Disagree” is the number of experts who disagree that the nonprofit has had the most impact in the field.

We invite you to visit the profiles of each of these top organizations on our website to read the expert reviews here. Experts commented on the impact each nonprofit has had, what the nonprofit’s other organizational strengths are, and how each organization could further improve.

This week we will highlight the top 8 high-impact international nonprofits working in water, sanitation, and hygiene through our blog and Twitter.

We also invite your feedback. Please tell us what you think and what experiences you’ve had with these great organizations! You can reach Jasmine Marrow, Manager of Philanthropedia Research at jasmine.marrow@guidestar.org.

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