U.S. Agency for International Development and LIXIL, a housing & sanitation products multinational company have launched the ‘Partnership for Better Living’ to facilitate access to affordable sanitation and hygiene solutions for the underprivileged in 11 sub-Saharan Africa and Asian countries by 2026. USAID intends to amplify the process of change by growing sustainable sanitation markets that meet the needs of low income households and vulnerable groups.
Future activities will create business opportunities for local small and medium-sized enterprises, with a focus on women entrepreneurs and inclusive markets.
USAID plans to award up to $10 million over the next five years to support LIXIL’s goals of mpacting 100 million people with basic sanitation and hygiene solutions, improving supply chains, and harnessing innovation. LIXIL will also contribute its own resources to advance the public-private partnership’s objectives.
Approximately half a million children die every year from preventable diseases such as diarrhea caused by unsafe water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene. It also results in productivity losses and personal safety risks— especially for women and girls. The world needs to quadruple its current progress to reach universal sanitation access by 2030.
