Restoring Safe Water and Sanitation in Central America

Fact Sheet: Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Sustainability Project [PDF - 192 KB].

In Latin America and the Caribbean in 2010, more than 118 million persons live without improved sanitation, and more than 35 million get their drinking water from an unimproved source ¹. When natural disasters strike, additional lives are threatened.

In 1998, Hurricane Mitch left more than 10,000 Central Americans dead and some 500,000 homeless, due to catastrophic flooding. In an effort to respond to the effects of this event, CDC’s Global Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene team partnered with the American Red Cross to create The Central America Sustainability Project. This project was designed in an attempt to restore safe water and sanitation to communities. This partnership brought sustainable water, sanitation construction, and hygiene education to affected areas, resulting in long-term health benefits.

For more information on CDC’s Sustainability program, visit Sustainability Research page.