World Water Day is an opportunity to make visible the problem of access to this resource and sanitation in our country and the region. In this context, alliances between private companies and civil organizations seek to provide solutions for access to drinking water and sanitation and hygiene education.
Without water there is no hygiene, and without hygiene, there is no health. In the 21st century, full access to drinking water and sanitation services is still a long way off. In Latin America, 30% of the population does not have access to drinking water, and 70% does not have adequate sanitation services (IDB). Lack of access to such a vital resource has profound effects on people’s quality of life. A recent investigation by the UCA maintains that this lack of access to safe water affects 3 out of 10 households in the Buenos Aires suburbs, and that 40% of those who do not have this access at the national level are children between 5 and 11 years of age. , which can present serious or fatal pictures derived from poisoning by contaminated water.
In this context, there are various initiatives, such as the one led by Fundación TECHO, and by Softys, a leading hygiene company, that seek to improve the living conditions of people in vulnerable situations. This is a case of an NGO-private sector company alliance to facilitate access to drinking water and sanitation in communities in Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay and Colombia. The program in question, “Softys Contigo”, will provide 2,000 solutions for access to drinking water by 2026, which include emergency housing, construction of rainwater harvesting systems, water storage towers, community sinks and sanitary units; and impacted more than 3,000 people during 2022.
Following the sixth Sustainable Development Goal established by the UN, it is a project that will change living conditions and allow access to adequate hygiene for hundreds of people, thanks to the construction of rain-collection systems, storage towers of water, community sinks and sanitary units. This March 18 and 19 in our country, 17 emergency homes were built, 11 in the “La Bistrica” community of Jose C. Paz, where more than 200 families live, and 6 in Tucumán, in the Portal ll community , where more than 110 families live.
Framed in a strategic plan, within the next few months the program will reach Tucumán, Córdoba and other locations in Buenos Aires. In Argentina, in particular, it is planned to build 252 sanitary solutions and access to water by 2026, which will directly benefit approximately 950 people, and indirectly more than 1,500.
by RN
