Hilton Foundation to Fund Water Projects

The Conrad N Hilton Foundation in the US is to provide $50m to deal with the water needs of more than one million people in sub-Saharan Africa and water-deprived areas of India and Mexico.

Over five years the $50m grant will fund a three-part strategy to improve access to sustainable safe water, increase advocacy and capacity, and expand knowledge on global water best practices for communities, governments, NGOs and donors.

According to the foundation, approximately 900 million people do not have access to adequate clean water and more than 2.5 billion people live without basic sanitation.

Hilton Foundation president and CEO Steven Hilton said the programmes being funded will use innovative and appropriate technologies to scale up safe water provision, develop tools to enhance water programming, foster partnerships, generate and share knowledge, and support advocacy.