Today, more than 1.1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water and 2.6 billion people have no access to basic sanitation.  GETF is positioned at the center of global efforts to address this crisis through our networks and results-oriented partnerships.  

Our safe water practice provides strategic counsel to corporations, foundations, development and multilateral organizations, and U.S. Government agencies through a number of core efforts.  Core services include: 

At GETF, we strive to position new initiatives and partnerships to become major contributors of solutions to solve the global water crisis.  The project summaries below demonstrate some of GETF’s work to and contributions to clean water and sanitation sector:

Water and Development Alliance (WADA)                                                               GETF has developed and is implementing the Water and Development Alliance, a partnership between the U.S. Agency for International Development and The Coca-Cola Company that supports a wide variety of water-related programs in developing countries. With a combined investment of $20.4 million since 2005, WADA is having a positive impact on the lives of people and the health of ecosystems in 21 countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America, with plans for expansion in 2009. We currently have active projects in Honduras, El Salvador, Mali, Mozambique, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Egypt, Senegal, South Africa and Zambia.  WADA is one of the largest and most successful public-private partnerships in the water sector and continues to demonstrate how government, business, and the NGO community collaborate on the development of innovative solutions.

In Chimoio, Mozambique, WADA combines the resources of local and international public and private entities to address the city’s urgent water needs through two complementary activities: the TextAfrica Water Treatment Plant Rehabilitation project and the Bairro 4 Urban Water Supply project. Through these initiatives, WADA renovated a dilapidated water treatment facility and extended the urban water distribution network to provide clean water for over 25,000 people, 12 schools, a hospital, and a health clinic – doubling the water supply for the country’s fifth largest city.

In the Wami-Ruvu and Pangani River Basins in Tanzania, WADA implemented watershed protection efforts including studies to understand the need for maintaining water flows for ecosystem, assessments of local industrial water users to provide recommendations for increasing water use efficiency and pollution reduction, and capacity building for the local water basin management office. As a result of the project, 430,000 hectares in these watersheds benefit from improved resource management.

In Mali, WADA supported the productive use of water by promoting the adoption of drip irrigation kits and affordable pumps by smallholder farmers. These simple technologies increase water efficiency and provide opportunities for income generation. Building on this prior effort, WADA will investigate whether nutrient-rich, treated effluent from the local Coca-Cola bottling facility’s newly-constructed wastewater treatment facility can be used by farmers in the region to improve crop yield. 

To find out more about current and completed WADA projects, please click here.

Replenish Africa Initiative (RAIN)                                                                                     GETF supported The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation in the creation of its Replenish Africa Initiative (RAIN).  According to the World Health Organization, more than 300 million Africans lack access to safe drinking water, and millions of them die each year from preventable waterborne illnesses.  Up to half of the region’s population at any one time suffers from diseases related to unsafe drinking water and poor sanitation.  To help combat this crisis, on March 16, 2009, The Coca-Cola Company announced its US$30MM commitment to RAIN.  This six year initiative will provide access to safe drinking water to communities throughout Africa and provide at least 2 million Africans with clean water and sanitation by 2015.   For more information, see http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/presscenter/nr_20090316_africa_rain_projects.html.

Global Water Management and Sustainability Support                                                 GETF supports The Coca-Cola Company’s global water stewardship programs in a number of aspects, to include strategic planning.  As part of these efforts, GETF facilitated the risk assessment of Coca-Cola's water-related business issues, developed solutions for improving water management, efficiency, and community relations, and helped define a strategic direction on water sustainability for the Company.  GETF is also working with international financial institutions, NGOs, government and local stakeholders to develop public-private partnerships with The Coca-Cola Company to leverage human and financial resources, and to improve access to potable water and sanitation in local communities, as well as enhance community relations.

Global Environment Facility (GEF) International Waters Program Support 
GETF supports the program management of the Global Environment Facility’s international waters portfolio (estimated value of ~ $13 billion) which operates in over 120 countries.  As part of its support, GETF organized the 4th Biennial Conference that was held in Cape Town, South Africa in August 2007.  The event featured water ministers from numerous countries as well as senior leadership from governments, Implementing Agencies (UNDP, UNEP, World Bank) and Executing Agencies (UNIDO, IMO, OAS, NGOs).  GETF was engaged in all of the program design, promotion and logistical aspects of the event.  GETF has also organized the First, Second, and Third Biennial International Waters Conferences held in Budapest, Hungary, Dalian, China, and Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. 

Promoting Replication of Good Practices for Nutrient Reduction and Joint Collaboration in Central and Eastern Europe 

GETF, in partnership with the Regional Environmental Center (REC) for Central and Eastern Europe is working with GEF on a two year project to:

• Prevent the resurgence of agricultural and non-agricultural non-point source nutrient releases;                                                     
• Identify, capture, analyze and summarize best practices and technologies to reduce the impacts of nutrient loading in the region;                                                     
•  Demonstrate successful replication strategies by facilitating agricultural and wetlands pilot projects and transferring knowledge to policy makers in the region; and                                                     
• Disseminate and promote nutrient reduction best practices and successful replication strategies in the region, among key decision-makers, industries, stakeholders and the general public.

Global Water Challenge GWC)                                                                        The GWC is a diverse coalition of corporations, foundations and aid organizations partnering to save lives and reduce suffering in the developing world by bringing safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene education to the more than 1.1 billion people who lack access to safe drinking water and the 2.6 billion people who have no access to basic sanitation.  GWC partners include The Coca-Cola Company, CARE, Cargill, The Case Foundation, The Dow Chemical Company, Emory Center for Global Safe Water, The Millennium Water Alliance, Procter and Gamble, UNICEF, The United Nations Foundation and Better World Fund, The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Wallace Genetics, Water Advocates, Water for People, and the Water Supply & Sanitation Collaborative Council.

GETF supported the creation of the GWC by the United Nations Foundation and its sister organization, The Better World Fund, and has provided strategic counsel to the partnership regarding organizational development, fundraising and outreach. The inaugural project of the GWS is the Water for Schools project in Kenya which will provide water and sanitation to schools and clinics in Ken The inaugural project of the GWC provides training on point-of-use water treatment and safe water storage, along with hygiene education and sanitation improvements to schools, communities, and district clinics throughout Kenya.  For more information, visit www.globalwaterchallenge.org.

Safe Water Network                                                                                                                                     The Safe Water Network (SWN) is a not-for-profit organization made up of prominent business and civic leaders dedicated to making major contributions to improving access to safe water by accelerating the development and utilization of distributed water purification solutions for the underserved markets.  This is being accomplished by establishing a venture philanthropy initiative and a network of leaders.  GETF provided support to the SWN on market research, technology assessment and their market positioning.  For more information, visit www.safewaternetwork.org.

Worrell Water Technologies                                                                                                                      For this start-up water technology company, GETF provided in-depth market assessments and business planning recommendations.  Worrell Water offers a suite of innovative clean water technologies that help ensure water security for communities and companies.  GETF advises the company on technology commercialization pathways, business development opportunities, and technology assessment issues.

World Water Forum3                                                                                                                  GETF provided strategic counsel and conducted extensive outreach with key U.S. decision-makers and potential U.S.-based partners to help meet the World Water Forum’s (WWF3) objectives held in Japan.  As one of the world’s largest conferences on water resources, WWF3 focused on trade, technology, policy and business issues facing the future of the world’s water supplies.  In partnership with the Forum Secretariat, GETF engaged key Forum stakeholders from industry, government, and NGOs in order to gain their support and participation in the WWF3.

International Center for Environmental Finance                                                    GETF’s International Center for Environmental Finance (ICEF) is an innovative environmental finance project designed to help countries create permanent, self-sustaining, market-based environmental finance systems for water infrastructure.  Programs have been underway throughout Eastern Europe and Central Asia. In Kazakhstan, ICEF is reducing waterborne illnesses for over 15,000 people in 12 remote villages by introducing technical solutions to current water problems and building sustainable water finance systems that will ensure the sustainability of safe water in the region.  The Clean Water Financing Program for Kazakhstan has received financial support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Eurasia Foundation, among others.  In Russia and Ukraine, ICEF has worked to convert existing grant programs into revolving loan programs targeting water infrastructure and other environmental problems.  For more information, click here.