+1:WASH

A network-based approach to improving access to water, sanitation, and hygiene in the Global South.

Three billion people across the world have no access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services. In the world’s poorest countries – half of all hospitals and clinics have no clean water. The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated this already stark reality.

We need to act. Together.

The Roddenberry Foundation, in partnership with The Shockwave Foundation, the Vitol Foundation, and the Sall Family Foundation has launched +1:WASH to promote a more inclusive, scalable, and collaborative approach to improving WASH in communities in greatest need.

Leveraging the +1 Global Fund framework, we aim to:

Create a collaborative and scalable model for identifying and supporting locally-led organizations addressing WASH

Build a robust pipeline of diverse, “under-the-radar” WASH organizations working with last-mile and vulnerable communities

Collect unprecedented data on individual, organizational and network behavior to catalyze action and learning

Form an adaptive ecosystem of funders, intermediaries, social entrepreneurs, and grassroots organizations working in WASH-related fields

The pandemic has shed light on the fragility and inequality of our most foundational systems, while highlighting the innovation and resilience of locally-led, community-based organizations. To improve upon and ultimately change our failing systems for the better we must leverage this moment to support them in profoundly different ways. The +1:WASH initiative is an ambitious, collective effort to catalyze this change.

+1:WASH is supported by a unique collaboration of WASH organizations, funders, practitioners, and social entrepreneurs working together to “ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all” (SDG 6).

See our awardees from each Round and if you’re interested in learning more please let us know.