Blood:Water partners with African grassroots organizations to address the HIV/AIDS and water crises. They provide technical, financial, and organizational support so that African civil society organizations have expanded reach and effectiveness in the communities they serve. They invest in scalable, African-led organizations and support their capacity building so that the investment will be leveraged for years to come.
Why We Partner
When Blood:Water launched, efforts were focused on AIDS response through expanding access to safe water as an intervention with dramatic impact on slowing disease progression for those living with the virus. However, the HIV/AIDS and water sectors in Africa have dramatically changed. Unprecedented investment in the HIV/AIDS sector has transformed the nature of the disease from a death sentence to a chronically manageable illness. Water has grown into a robust sector, integrating hygiene and sanitation, and is now one of many available interventions that impact the quality and length of life for a person living with HIV/AIDS.
Blood:Water’s WASH investments simultaneously reduce the spread of COVID-19, reduce water-borne illnesses, and improve climate resilience in African communities directly impacted with HIV/AIDS. This dual-opportunity approach strengthens the collective response to the current pandemic while building a more adaptable and resilient world.
Impact
Organizational funding will support Blood:Water’s current programs and partnerships and their ability to scale. Flexible funding enables them to simultaneously address COVID-19 while continuing to strengthen WASH and AIDS programming.
Outcomes and Next Steps (2022)
We are so impressed with the capacity strengthening and support Blood:Water provides in its sector that we have made an additional 3 year unrestricted grant. We are happy to provide introductions to other funders, as well as build connections to other similar organizations who want to study how effective B:W is at supporting WASH and HIV organizations.