The lack of proper sanitation and hygiene continues to be a major contributor to high child mortality and undernutrition (including stunting and anemia), and a barrier to adequate education for children in regions such as Africa, South East Asia, and the Pacific.
Approximately 2 billion people now lack adequate water, sanitation, and hygiene, known as WASH services, with conflicts, climate change, and inequality worsening the problem, especially for women, children, and marginalized groups. Rural communities, urban slums, and those impoverished are those most affected.
The World Health Organization’s most recent estimates of the human toll of diseases associated with poor WASH facilities indicate this to be 1.4 million deaths annually, mostly in low- and middle-income nations.
The WASH sector encompasses a diverse range of stakeholders, including international and regional organizations, private companies, assistance groups, international donors, and partner nations. To operate efficiently, these entities require qualified personnel for both their aid programs and daily operations.
Let’s take a look at international organizations with the highest number of positions available in the WASH sector in the last 12 months according to the largest information platform in the sector – the DevelopmentAid database.
Organizations with the highest number of jobs in the WASH sector
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
Water and sanitation jobs: 455
Working in more than 100 countries, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) strives to promote basic hygiene practices in both rural and urban areas to ensure that people have access to clean water and dependable sanitation. For instance, UNICEF’s WASH program in South Sudan in Africa has made great progress in alleviating the country’s acute water shortage. In addition, together with the Ethiopian government, the organization attempts to deal with the humanitarian crisis in the country by providing food assistance, access to drinking water, and child protection services.
In the DevelopmentAid database, you can find open positions from UNICEF across nearly every continent including countries in Asia, Africa, and North and Latin America.
Find all the available positions here.
Want to discover more? Listen to DevelopmentAid Dialogues – our new podcast on how UNICEF’s WASH initiative saves lives.
Arcadis
Water and sanitation jobs: 202
Arcadis NV is as an international design, engineering, and management consulting company with headquarters in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It houses over 30,000 experts including architects, data analysts, and professionals in water management and sustainability. The company works in over 30 countries to improve communities by delivering resources and innovative technologies.
One of the success stories involving Arcadis NV activity is its assistance to the Aeta people in the Philippines. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, these indigenous Filipinos faced numerous difficulties, with poor access to safe and clean water being the most serious. Arcadis established multiple hand pump facilities in different parts of the nation to ensure better sanitation, health, and resources for cattle and plants.
The company offers several job opportunities in various regions around the globe, including the Philippines, the United States, and the EU.
Find all the available positions here.
Suggested read: Water pollution in the Philippines
World Vision International
Water and sanitation jobs: 166
The evangelical Christian humanitarian aid, development, and advocacy organization, World Vision International, is based in Monrovia in California (USA) and London in the UK. Operating in more than 100 nations, it addresses the root causes of poverty and inequality, offering support to children, families, and their communities.
One World Vision International activity is the USAID-funded five-year Nobo Jatra program. The main objective of this is to improve resilience, dietary intake, and food safety in southwest Bangladesh. Providing access to and appropriate management of clean water and sanitation is a major component of the program.
The organization offers numerous job opportunities in several regions, including Indonesia, the Philippines, Kenya, and the United States.
Find all the available positions here.
Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)
Water and sanitation jobs: 117
The NRC is an independent humanitarian non-governmental organization that works to protect the rights of people impacted by displacement. This includes those who have been displaced internally and refugees who have been forced to leave their places of residence due to natural catastrophes, climate change, violence, and abuses of human rights.
One of the regions where the NRC has been working to help people is the Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa. The latest data shows that the humanitarian crisis in Ituri province (a northeastern region of the country) is worsening, with more than 1.6 million people having been displaced. The organization operates to meet the key needs of children in the region by building classrooms and housing and improving their access to safe water.
The NRC provides several job opportunities in a number of nations, including Venezuela, Nigeria, Mali, and the EU.
Find all the available positions here.
Solidarités International
Water and sanitation jobs: 84
Nonprofit organization, Solidarités International, works in conflict and natural catastrophe zones. Its primary goal is to deliver the basic necessities – food, shelter, and water – in a timely and efficient manner. The charity also focuses on tackling food insecurity and contaminated drinking water within the most susceptible populations.
One nation that Solidarités International has served is Syria. Prolonged conflict and climate change as had a devastating impact on North-East Syria, including limited and worsening access to irrigation and drinking water for the local population. Solidarités International is currently working to restore the access and functioning of 17 water plants and 3 irrigation plants, as well as drainage and irrigation canals spanning several kilometers.
Solidarités International offers job opportunities in a variety of countries, including Haiti, Chad, and the EU.
Find all the available positions here.
To access the largest database of aid-related information and opportunities, become a DevelopmentAid member today. Members have permanent access to tenders and grants for individuals, as well as job alerts, salary information tools, and other instruments designed to boost your development sector career.
