CDC Global WASH Programs and Projects
Safe Water System
In areas where access to safe water, appropriate wastewater management, and adequate sewer systems is not feasible, certain programs, such as CDC's Safe Water System, can empower people to improve and protect the quality of their household drinking water through simple, inexpensive technologies to treat and safely store water in their homes. The intervention consists of these steps:
- Point-of-use treatment of contaminated water
- Safe water storage
- Improved hygiene
- Behavior change techniques
Photo courtesy of D. Lantagne
For smaller community-based organizations, technical information on developing household water treatment and safe water storage programs can be found online within the Bibliography of Point-of-Use Water Disinfection. Also available online is the document Safe Water for the Community: A Guide for Establishing a Community-Based Safe Water System Program (PDF, 660 kb, 62 pages); this guide can also be obtained in hard-copy with a CD by sending an email to safewater@cdc.gov (1).
Global Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Program (Global WASH) at the National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH)
Photo courtesy of R. Gelting
In communities where water, sanitation construction, and hygiene education are feasible interventions, the Global Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (Global WASH) program at CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) collaborates with partner organizations to improve the public health effects and sustainability of these environmental conditions. The program also provides technical assistance to support water, sanitation, and hygiene development and implementation.
Currently, the Global WASH program at NCEH:
- Evaluates the sustainability of water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions such as the Central America Water and Sanitation Sustainability Project;
- Improves access to safe drinking water through Water Safety Plans (WSPs); and
- Researches the public health impacts of sanitation programs.
More information on community water systems and water safety plans is available from CDC's Water Safety Plans and from the World Health Organization (WHO) at WSPortal: Health through Water. Technical information on developing water safety plans can be found from WHO at Water Safety Plans: Managing Drinking-Water Quality from Catchment to Consumer.
Guinea Worm Eradication Program
Photo courtesy of The Carter Center
For more information on Guinea Worm Disease, visit:
- Carter Center’s Guinea Worm Eradication Program
- CDC’s Guinea Worm Disease website
1. Lantagne DS, Gallo W. Safe Water for the Community: A Guide for Establishing a Community-Based Safe Water System Program. CDC 2008; Edition 1.
2. The Carter Center. Distribution by Country of 9,570 Cases of Dracunculiasis Reported During 2007. Available at http://www.cartercenter.org/resources/pdfs/health/guinea_worm/guinea_worm_cases_country_2007.pdf .
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- Page last reviewed: November 25, 2008
- Page last updated: November 25, 2008
- Content source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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