World Vision Receives $79 Million Grant for Clean Water

The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) has granted World Vision $79 million to reach 700 schools, healthcare facilities and neighboring communities with clean water over five years. The grant recognizes the strength of World Vision Ethiopia’s Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) team of more than 155 dedicated staff throughout the country. CIFF is the world’s largest independent philanthropy focusing on improving children’s lives.

The CIFF-funded effort called “Water4 Life+” will reach 10 districts in eight regions of Ethiopia that were selected in consultation with the government of Ethiopia and support the government’s effort to transform the lives of millions of Ethiopians. The project aims to increase reliable, safe water supply to 281 healthcare facilities and 415 schools serving more than half a million students in the targeted districts. The project is expected to impact the lives of more than 1.6 million people.

Water4Life+ is implemented in close collaboration with the government of Ethiopia through a joint project management structure comprising of government line ministries, CIFF and World Vision. In conjunction with this effort, CIFF is also funding the provision of electricity in schools and healthcare facilities in these same areas. In total, CIFF has committed to providing $119 million for the water and electricity efforts over five years.

This grant is the largest WASH grant received by World Vision from a private foundation and was made possible because of the generosity of private donors who have invested in the Ethiopia WASH program for many years, enabling the team to become a leader in the development of WASH services. This effort will promote transformation across Ethiopia, gather evidence and learnings for future work in schools and healthcare facilities, and play a leading role in solving the global water crisis.

World Vision in Spotlight at the Concordia Annual Summit

Earlier this Fall, World Vision participated in the Concordia Annual Summit in New York City. This summit convenes the world’s most prominent business, government, and nonprofit leaders to foster dialogue and enable effective partnerships for impact. Patricia Heaton, actress and World Vision Global Ambassador, led a panel at Concordia with Edgar Sandoval, World Vision President and CEO, and two of our clean water partners – Allison Tummon Kamphuis of P&G and Pia Rask of Grundfos. World Vision also hosted a roundtable at Concordia to foster new partnerships with corporations and foundations. Patricia Heaton and I also hosted a side-event at Concordia to celebrate reaching 25 million people with clean water and to share how this is positively impacting the lives of women and girls. A special thank you to Patricia Heaton who announced that she and David Hunt will match up to $1 million in donations made on Giving Tuesday.