Dubai Cares

In 2009, Dubai Cares is taking the lead in advocating for solutions where evidence suggests poor or inaccessible Water and lack of Sanitation affect a child’s ability to attend school.

Providing potable water and hygienic sanitation facilities in schools is an essential part of ensuring a complete integrated education solution. Access to poor quality water and the absence of clean sanitation reduces family income and increases poverty and absenteeism in schools.

In fact, 443 million school days are lost annually due to water-borne diseases. Every year, 1.8 million children die of diseases caused by unclean water and inadequate sanitation, with the developing world accounting for 9 out of 10 of the deaths. An average of three hours of daily household time is spent collecting water and this chore is typically the responsibility of women and children in developing countries.

In any school environment, the provision of clean water and gender-segregated sanitation facilities is essential to reduce absenteeism and increase access to education. For example, where good sanitation is provided, studies have shown a 12% increase in school enrolment among girls.

As part of its global campaign, in January 2009, Dubai Cares chaired the first in a series of roundtable forums in New York on the link between water and sanitation and primary education programs in the developing world. Together with UNICEF, Save the Children, Oxfam, Care International and Water Aid, International Research Center and Emory University, Dubai Cares is working to establish empirical links between access to clean water and education and is analyzing advantages among current practices and approaches to create a unified program model.

This year’s focus on water and sanitation will be the focal point of Dubai Cares’ future programs and will determine the nature of its future partnerships with existing and new partners.