Australian Development Gateway

The Australian Development Gateway (ADG) strives to support members of the development community in their efforts to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development in the Asia Pacific region. The site has been created with participation from members of government, private, academia and non-government organisations. User feedback mechanisms have been incorporated to guide future directions of the site. The site is optimised for low bandwidth access to enable the widest participation throughout the Asia Pacific region.

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Water & health

Health in your hands: The global public-private partnership for handwashing with soap

Handwashing with soap may be an old idea, but it is far from universally practiced. Combining the expertise and resources of the soap industry with the facilities and resources of governments to promote handwashing with soap is one obvious solution. Whilst governments and development agencies want to combat disease and poverty, industry is interested in expanding its market.

Handwashing plays an important part in the efforts to reach the Millennium Development Goals related both to: (1) health improvements, and (2) access and effective use of water supply and sanitation services, two of the five major goals agreed to by UN member countries at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in September 2002.

The objectives of the initiative are to:

  • reduce the incidence of diarrhoeal diseases in poor communities through Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) promoting handwashing with soap
  • implement large scale handwashing interventions and use lessons to promote the approach at global level
  • get private industry and the public sector to work together with other partners to develop programs to promote handwashing.
 

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