Partnering with community-based organizations to provide contextualized approaches to WaSH inequities in the United States

Abstract

While comprehensive data are lacking, estimates suggest at least two million Americans do not have access to basic water, sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH) services. These WaSH challenges are not uniformly distributed throughout the country, but rather occur in pockets along lines of race and class, mirroring historical and current patterns of marginalization and disenfranchisement. Given the highly context-specific challenges and the geographic, cultural, and policy environments in which they have been produced, the CDC Foundation set out to support community-based organizations (CBOs) in responding to WaSH challenges within their respective communities (n ¼ 7). The mixed-methods evaluation of the application of this CBO model to address WaSH challenges in the United States suggests that this approach shows promise to bolster CBO capacity to address WaSH gaps within their communities, addressing immediate physical and informational needs. However, additional work is needed to understand the sustainability of these changes and how programs can be designed to support longer-term, systems change.